You May Be Right
by Sass Master
Summary: CHAPTER 9 WRITTEN BY SIXTH NIGHT! It was almost impossible for him to look at anything else. Why hadn’t he noticed this attraction before he’d been reacquainted with her here in Costa del Sol?
1. Chapter 1

A.N. **This is very important.** Like, more important than when I normally say something is important. This is a collaboration, and it is currently unfinished. The _very first sentence_ (yes we're that specific) was written by the ever-fabulous **Sakura-Angel2.** Hopefully, we'll be getting more from her later. Everything after that but BEFORE the first break in the story, not after these notes (the OoOoOoO) was written by the lovely, the talented, **Wrexsoul. **Everything after THAT was written by yours truly. The title is that of a song by Billy Joel. Look up the lyrics if you don't know them—I'm sure you'll see they're very fitting. The title is also subject to change, as is about everything XD But enough of that nonsense.

No one owns anything except Square-Enix. Get used to it—I have.

**XXXXXXXXX**

He sat sullenly at the sandy counter under the flapping orange and yellow flags. The monotonous tide at this crowded beach mirrored the overcast sky that loomed overhead, thinning clouds like smoke giving some faint and false hope of the sun breaking through.

The detachment was plain on Reno's face and plainer in the uninviting slump of his shoulders as he hunched over the counter, his hand loosely wrapped around his drink.

Looking to his right, he watched in morbid curiosity as yet another scantily clad beach bunny arrived to pick up her own alcoholic beverage, which was a shade of blue so scarily bright that it led Reno to believe it had been prepared with antifreeze.

He diverted his attention, numbly trying to contemplate his vacation choice in the annoying commotion of this overcrowded bar. The humidity was unbearable as it was; he did not need to be surrounded by scores of people who did not respect his personal space. What's more, he was quickly reminded that there was nothing that sand couldn't get into or onto... and all the men on this beach -- every single one of them -- were wearing Speedos.

Looking out over the dull ocean horizon, Reno's expression turned from glowering boredom into insufferable blankness. _Why_ was he here again?

No, he quickly decided. He knew Costa del Sol was better than this... he was just in the wrong place. There was no use regretting his vacation, he simply had yet to make it worthwhile.

Reno would have loved to thank the bartender personally for the sandy beer, but instead slapped a couple gil on the counter and eased his way into nearby pedestrian traffic. It was then, somewhere in the busy torrent of people that a little girl ran straight into him.

The impact was unexpected, and Reno gave a little grunt. The girl apologized, to which he scowled and tried to move past her. But she remained in his path, looking up at him with wide, brown eyes, something worrying the barricade for emotion behind them, of what threatened to spill through at any second.

"I'm lost," she told him with almost shy helplessness.

Reno stared back, half in disbelief of what he was hearing, and half in general uncertainty of how to react. "Er... okay..." he said for lack of anything more profound.

The little child won her earnest staring contest. "I'm really, _really_ lost..."

Sighing shortly, Reno found he was growing more annoyed by the second. He looked around, hoping for somebody, anybody else who had noticed. It was just his luck that he of all people would be singled out by some lost kid. If he could meet her parents, he'd tell them they were horrible and they needed to buy a leash. "Look, why don't you just ask--"

"I miss my Aunt T-Ti... Ti..." The little girl had to pause, trying to muster her courage, but it failed her and her slight frame gave; her eyes fell shut as her chin crinkled and her mouth opened, and she finished her last wailing syllable: "…_faaaaaa_...!"

OoOoOoOoO

It had been early morning when Marlene arrived at Costa del Sol. Tifa hadn't been expecting her so soon, but she was glad to see her again: it felt like ages since she had seen a familiar face. However, she had been occupied with her newly acquired business and Marlene, as much as Tifa had hated to admit it, was really more of a nuisance than a source of help. She was too small to help carry anything, and her constant questioning about a certain man she had been trying not to think about wasn't making her work any easier. Luckily for Tifa, Marlene had spotted a few children her age kicking a soccer ball around just outside the door. She ran to the window to get a better look, and then turned to Tifa hopefully.

"Tifa can I go play outside?" She asked. Tifa smiled ruefully: it was really only a matter of time before Marlene got bored. What interest would a girl her age have in an empty bar?

"Sure," Tifa said, "as long as you don't go too far," she warned. "I'll make us some lunch, okay? I'll call you when it's ready."

"Okay. Thanks, Tifa!" Marlene said, excitedly running through the door. Tifa sighed and shook her head. _Kids are easy to please. _Not that it made any difference to her. She needed a break and stopping to make lunch was starting to sound pretty good.

When it was finished, she went outside to find Marlene, just as she had told the little girl she would. She scanned the horizon for a flash of pink but found nothing. _This isn't good_. She thought hard, frowning. _Barret would KILL me if I lost her. _Marlene had been in Tifa's care, and if something happened to her, it'd be her fault. Until she could be sure Marlene was all right, she'd have to prepare herself to accept the blame. But there was no use in panicking just yet; for all she knew, Marlene could be right around the corner. No one that she knew of performed well in a state of panic. If she wanted to find Marlene, she'd have to keep a level head.Thinking of the consequences of losing Marlene and wincing, she decided to ask around. A small boy and girl were standing next to her, and they seemed to be looking for something as well.

Tifa bent down to the boy. "Hi there," she started. "Were you playing with a little girl in a pink dress just now?"

He nodded gravely. "Yeah, she was here," he said.

_Well good, now we're getting somewhere! _"Do you happen to know where she went?" she asked, hoping this kid could help her.

He nodded more vigorously this time. "I'm lookin' for her too! We was playin' with the soccer ball and Cindy," he cast a disapproving look to the girl behind him, "kicked the ball to hard, an' it went by all the people. The girl in the pink dress went after it, an' I didn't see her after that. It was over that way, I think," he said, pointing in the direction of the inn and the entrance to the beach.

Tifa brightened up considerably. Who knew he'd contain such volumes of information? "Thank you very much!" she said, smiling at him and running off towards the beach.

"Hey! If ya see her, tell her we want our ball back!" he shouted after her. She turned briefly while running and flashed him a thumbs up.

Sadly, after ten minutes of searching in the area specified, Tifa still hadn't found Marlene. Maybe now it was time to start worrying. Costa del Sol was really no place for a little girl to be wandering around, especially if she didn't know where she was going. Not only that, but Tifa had seen quite a few sketchy looking people in this neighborhood. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Don't freak out, Tifa, she's probably fine," she told herself, ever the optimist. "I'll just head back and make some phone calls. I'm sure I'll be able to find her," she said as she walked to the bar, defeated. Upon arriving she made a beeline for the phone and sighed again, dialing a number. Lunch had long since been forgotten. Tifa really hoped Marlene was in good hands, wherever she was.

oOo

Reno wasn't really sure what to do. Tifa? That chick from AVALANCHE, or whatever they called it now, was here? And this girl REALLY expected him to lead her to an old enemy? Yeah right, like THAT was going to happen. He sure as hell wasn't going to get involved with this crap, so he took the only obvious route: turn on his heels and walk away.

He had more important things to deal with at the moment. That last bar was pretty boring, despite the bizarre colors of the drinks they served, and he was dead set on finding a decent place to drink. His errant walking led him somewhere near the center of town. Lo and behold, he found himself right outside another bar. Reno was about to grab the door handle when a small voice piped up behind him.

"Hey! You found Tifa's bar!" Reno whirled around, once again becoming face-to-face with an all-too-familiar little girl. "Thank you soooooo much, mister!" Marlene said, beaming. "I gotta tell Tifa how nice you were to bring me back! I don't know what I woulda done if you didn't help me find this place."

Reno quickly withdrew his hand from the doorknob and looked down at Marlene. She'd obviously taken his silence as admission that he'd help her out. And he supposed he had, even if that wasn't his plan at all. Reno's sort of plan didn't often consist of leading small children to people he had repeatedly tried to kill... and vice-versa. Come to think of it, he didn't like the position he was in at all. "You telling me that Tifa will be in here?"

Marlene nodded. "'Course she's inside! She just bought this place. I've never been here before, so that's why I got lost. There were some kids playin' soccer outside, and Tifa told me I could play with them. A girl kicked the ball REAL hard, and I chased after it. But there was LOTSA people! …I got lost," she finished, looking a bit embarrassed.

But Reno wasn't really concerned with her story. Was this girl really saying that Tifa had bought the ONLY other bar in town? Man, fate was cruel. He grimaced slightly, wondering where his priorities lay. Ah, the eternal question: Is a drink really worth social awkwardness?

Marlene didn't have time for deliberation, so she ended his internal contemplating for him. "Come on! Come inside! Tifa will be so glad that you brought me back here!" She said, taking his hand and dragging him through the doorway with alarming force for a child her size.

_Shit. SHIT._ Reno didn't look forward to confrontation, especially when it could result in broken limbs and a bruised ego. But what could he do? There was no way this kid was going to let him go without a fight, and Tifa was bound to see him sooner or later.

He stumbled into the room, and was aggravated to see Tifa turn and look at him before Marlene had the chance to speak up. She opened her mouth to inform the currently anonymous person that she was not yet open for business, but her words caught in her throat before she could get them out. Her eyes widened a little and her mouth remained in a slightly open position, before she remembered her manners. He could see her gain her composure at the last moment prior to speaking. "…Reno?" She was surprised, and he didn't blame her. He'd be surprised to see him too. Thankfully her gaze lowered to Marlene's beaming face before the tension had a chance to get any thicker.

"Marlene!" she said "Oh thank God!" Her shocked expression turned to one of utter relief. She abandoned the phone to run to Marlene and hug her tightly. "I'm so glad you're safe. Do you know how angry your daddy would be if I had lost you?" she and Marlene giggled a little, but Tifa wasn't completely done with her interrogation. "Are you all right? How'd you get home?"

"I'm fine, this man brought me home," she said, looking up at Reno who had been temporarily forgotten.

Reno saw Tifa look up at him as well, a dumbstruck look gracing her face, almost as if she were just remembering he was there. Reno mentally rolled his eyes. _I've been blown off for a little girl. I oughta be insulted. _Tifa, however, was still having trouble comprehending the state of things.

_Reno brought Marlene back?_

Tifa straightened herself and resumed her slightly shocked staring at Reno. He could see it in her eyes; she was obviously trying to decide what to make of this situation. Reno had to admit; the whole thing must have seemed a little weird for her. Here he was, a former enemy of hers, strolling casually into her newly acquired bar with a newly acquired lost little girl in tow. Sure, it wasn't Reno's intent for any bit of this to happen, but there he was, and there she was. They were both adults; eventually, one of them would have to break the silence and enter into the mundane chit-chat that one is forced to partake in when pretending to be polite.

Marlene picked up on the odd way Reno and Tifa were looking at each other.

"Do you know him, Tifa?" she inquired, gazing up at the woman.

"I… Yes, I do, Marlene," Tifa told her, still casting skeptical glances at Reno. She sent a glance in the direction of Marlene, only to find her looking at the two of them in a somewhat expectant way. Tifa sighed. She knew, now that she had told Marlene she knew Reno, Marlene would want them to talk… or something.

"So Reno…" Tifa started, trying to sound casual as she walked behind the bar, motioning for Reno to sit. "What brings you to Costa?" she asked as Reno took the stool in the center of the counter.

"Business," Reno stated simply. Taking note of the strange look Tifa was giving him, he elaborated. "Well, not business really… more of a vacation," he added. There must have been a hint of fabrication in his voice, because Tifa continued to give him a prying stare. Reno rolled his eyes. "OKAY, so it's not _exactly_ a vacation. It's a permanent leave of absence without pay," he admitted, regretting it about a half-second later.

Tifa frowned at him. "You're out a job?" She realized that was a bit of a stupid question. She really couldn't imagine what there would be for a Turk to do nowadays.

"Well yeah, but I'm looking! You don't seem to be having that problem though," Reno said, his eyes traveling to walls of the room they were in. "So where's all those other people you used to run around doing good deeds with?"

Tifa considered being offended, but instead took a deep breath before explaining. "Well, Barret's in Corel, Cid's back in Rocket Town with Shera… Umm…" She paused to think. "Yuffie's back in Wutai. She sent me a letter a while back actually. I'm assuming Cait Sith is with Reeve, if you really want to count him as a person. Nanaki is in Cosmo Canyon doing… whatever he does there, and I haven't the slightest idea where Vincent has gone off to, cause, well, that's just how he is…" She finished, trailing off.

_Everyone's got somewhere to be._ The full effect of the situation hit her. _It's just like that night before we battled Sephiroth. Everyone had someone, something they were fighting for. Everyone except for me and Cloud… _It suddenly occurred to her how lonely she was. Why else would she be sitting here having a nice little chat—with a former enemy?

Reno raised an eyebrow at her failure to provide the whereabouts of a certain spiky-headed party member. "What about Cloud? Is he here with you?"

Tifa shifted uncomfortably where she was standing. "Um… no. No, he isn't here,"

Reno breathed a mental sigh of relief at this news—the last thing he needed was having that sword-carrying psycho around. He wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell of partaking in normal conversation if he were there. Tifa would probably be fawning over Cloud as she had become so famous for, and Cloud would be ignoring her to threaten Reno. Man, that guy was an idiot. Who needed that kind of drama? _Plus, with Cloud not around, I wouldn't have any competition either._ Reno thought to himself, jokingly. But her lack of a definitive answer still left him curious. "…Where is he then?"

Tifa furrowed her brow and looked at her feet as she spoke. "He's… well, he said… I-I'm not really…"

"Cloud sent you a letter, didn't he Tifa?" Marlene interrupted. "He said he hadda 'do some things' right?"

Tifa smiled a little and nodded at Marlene. "That's exactly right. He did say that," Tifa said, remembering the somewhat cryptic letter she had gotten a few days earlier. Seeing Reno open his mouth to ask another question, she quickly cut in.

"So anyway! It was… nice of you to bring Marlene back. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't… I owe you," she stated, looking both relieved to have gotten off the subject and reluctant to admit that he had done her a favor. She leaned back a little and assumed her bartending stance. "So, what it'll be?"

Hmmm, so she owed him? Was that it? Reno could have fun with this. He smirked inwardly thinking of his next plan of action. A lame pick-up line came to mind, and he was immediately curious what Tifa's response would be.

"How about some sex on the beach?" he asked, initially with a straight face, but growing increasingly amused, wondering how far he could take this. It was always a kick to take advantage of the beverage's suggestive name.

Tifa's eyes narrowed a little at his request, but thought it better to give Reno the benefit of the doubt than to get angry. After all, he really COULD be talking about a drink… right? "How would you like it?"

Reno grinned in a way that bordered on evil. "I'm sure I'll like it any way you give it to me," he said suggestively.

Tifa could've smacked herself for asking that question. She should have KNOWN she'd get an answer like that, but she decided to give Reno a chance... at least for the time being. She turned around to fix his drink: Even if that wasn't what he was looking for, that was all he was going to get.

The bar was silent for, oh, about ten seconds before Marlene decided to pipe up again. "Hey mister!" she said to Reno. "What's… sex on the beach? I've never heard anyone ask for that before. What is it?"

Tifa froze when she heard Marlene's question, and instantly answered it before Reno got the chance to. "It's not something you have to worry about until you're much older. Okay Marlene?" she said, smiling nervously.

Marlene nodded, looking confused and a little disappointed. "Okay…" she replied. She didn't really understand. Tifa seemed angry when the nice man had asked for sex on the beach. Was it not good? "Is sex on the beach a bad thing?" this was once again directed at Reno. He smiled wickedly, waiting to see what Tifa would do this time as he replied before she got the chance to ruin his fun.

"Not necessarily, it can be good… VERY good. It depends on how you have it… or who you have it with," he drew out his last few words, intentionally looking at Tifa as he said them.

Tifa glowered at Reno, and slammed the nearly full glass she was holding on the counter-top, amazingly not spilling a drop. He grinned at her, trying to look innocent.

"You need to go now," she told him, doing her best to keep her voice even.

"But why?" he asked, pretending to have no idea WHAT she was talking about.

"_Out_," Tifa said firmly, pointing to the door. Seeing that he wasn't going to budge, and that he was about to protest yet again, she swiftly walked around the bar and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him to the exit. Maybe it wasn't that big of a deal, but Tifa was pissed. She had tried to be nice, tried to be hospitable, but he had to be so damn DIFFICULT!

Tifa threw Reno out into the crowded streets of Costa del Sol, and closed the door behind him. Reno, never one to quit when he was on a roll like this, didn't give up yet.

"C'mon Tifa… don't be like that," Reno, feigning distress. Tifa could hear his obnoxious smirk in his words.

"Go _away_," she told him, loud enough for him to hear through the door.

Reno shrugged. "Fine, fine," he said, turning to walk away from the bar. "But I wouldn't want you to forget that you owe me SEX ON THE BEACH!" he stopped briefly to scream at her, making sure she wasn't the only one who wouldn't forget what she owed him.

Tifa was horrified. She was absolutely sure the entire town had heard him. The "sex on the beach" part anyway. Of course, this was no doubt Reno's intention. She let out a growl of frustration as she leaned against the door. He had no right to mock her. Tifa found it hard to believe that Reno would bring Marlene back to her. Marlene had to have been mistaken. Reno was just an un-employed ex-enemy of hers that insisted on being as annoying as possible.

She didn't owe him a damn thing.

**XXXXXXXXX**

A.N: Well, that's the first part then. Special thanks to Rachel for suggesting the 'sex on the beach' thing. It was for a different fic, but I found a place to use it finally. There are more completed chapters for posting. Perhaps showing us your love will persuade me to post them sooner.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm admittedly disappointed with the review turn out. Okay, so it hasn't even been quite a week, but still! A lot of thought went into what is written so far, and we need a lot more incentive to finish this fic.**

**This chapter was written by me and me only. All the other writers should be thankful that I'm takin this bullet for them XD**

**Beware of clichés and innuendo. Then again, I think people should warn you of that when you're walking down the street.**

**XXXXXXXXX**

Compared to pestering a former enemy with innuendos and being thrown out of a bar onto a crowded street, the rest of Reno's night seemed pretty uneventful. Feeling like he had accomplished enough for one evening, he returned to the inn where he was staying. No really, he was serious about being on vacation. Then again, he was serious about not having a job as well. Right… he was going to have to do something about that. Surely he'd have an idea in the morning.

Despite his finest efforts and an inordinate amount of sleep, Reno still didn't have any plans of action to collect some income. This was a daily occurrence of course—waking up at noon in a hotel with no job and no machination to get one. Reno shrugged. _No use breaking tradition._ The rest of the day was usually spent wandering around town, pretending to seek employment and spending what money he'd saved from when he _did_ have a job on food and… other areas of interest—like the bar from yesterday. Speaking of which, he was going to have to find a new place to go. _Damn shame Tifa's place isn't open yet…_

Reno laughed to himself as he started down the street. He'd definitely be going back there. But… maybe he'd save that for some other time. Showing up at her door again might leave him with a thoroughly kicked ass, and he liked his ass the way it was, thanks.

No, no… that would be an adventure for another day. Today Reno was going to pretend he was making an attempt to get his life back on track by looking for a house.

Normally, aimlessly strolling around was a poor way to find a place to live, but Reno did have a slight idea of what he was looking for. An old friend of his from Midgar, Johnny, told him he'd be selling his house. Reno was supposed to go check it out but he'd gotten… well, sidetracked. Truth be told, the address Johnny gave him had become utterly lost to Reno—both in memory and the fact that the paper he wrote it on had gone through the wash. Oh well. There could only be so many places for sale in Costa del Sol, right?

Right. A brief walk led Reno to a house near the harbor with a "FOR SALE" sign in the window. _Nice place._ The sign in the window was the only indication he needed to inform him this was the house he was looking for, and the unlocked door was enough permission to let himself in and look around.

Sure enough, the house was fairly empty, devoid of people as well as furniture, as one may expect from a house on the market. Reno stopped in the middle of the foyer, looking around with his hands in his pockets. _What the hell was Johnny thinking? I don't need a house this freakin' big. Why would I pay for a basement? _

Reno had spotted a door leading to the cellar. It was held open with a wooden wedge on the floor, but that didn't phase Reno at all as he stepped inside. However, the large crates of alcohol managed to catch his attention. _Well, that's a little weird_.

Stepping closer to get a better look, he noticed the boxes had labels on them, addressed to one Tifa Lockheart. _What?_ Reno was utterly confused, but the focus of his puzzlement shifted when he heard footsteps upstairs.

_Realtor maybe? _Or maybe a certain person had come by to get her mail.

OoOoOoOoO

Tifa awoke that morning with thoughts of last night far behind her. She had always been a patient, forgiving woman and, despite being annoying, Reno was no exception when it came to that.

Today would be to busy of a day to be dwelling on prior, trivial events. Her bar would be opening soon, and all the supplies she ordered and kept in her house had to be moved. Sure, she had enough in stock to make the shelves look full and to fix something for a certain red-head which, come to think of it, he never drank. However, the bulk of the goods were in the wrong place.

Fortunately she'd been keeping in shape—those boxes were damn heavy.

The monotony began at sun-up, and hadn't gotten any more exciting since then—grab a crate from home, bring to it to the bar, and repeat. A short while after AM became PM, the man at the materia stall called her over on her way by.

"I've got a note here for you," he said once Tifa was within earshot. "It's from Johnny. He said he's sorry he couldn't talk to you himself."

Interested, Tifa took the note and read it.

_"Dear Tifa,_

_I know I told you I was moving, but I never got the chance to tell you we already found a house. I moved out to Kalm with the wife. Gotta look after my parents in Midgar too. _

_It's too bad we weren't living near each other for that long. It would have been fun to be neighbors again, just like old times. My new address is written on the bottom. Hopefully we'll see each other soon._

_-- Johnny._

Tifa frowned. _So Johnny's gone already? I got so caught up with the things I had to do, I never was able to say goodbye. Oh well, at least we won't lose touch_. She looked back up at the man and thanked him before heading home to get more supplies.

She found her door slightly ajar, but that didn't surprise her—she'd probably left it open. It wasn't exactly easy OR convenient to close a door when trying to transport a large box. Tifa sighed as she ambled towards the basement. _Could today GET any more boring? _She was about to sigh again but it was cut off by her own sudden outburst upon entering the cellar.

"What are you _doing_ in my _house_?"

OoOoOoOoO

Stupidly, Reno found himself asking the same question. _What AM I doing in her house?_ _Wait a minute—that's not even the point! This is HER house?_

He voiced his thoughts. "What do you mean YOUR house?"

Tifa was exasperated. "What do you _think_ I mean? It's _my_ house. _I_ bought it with _my_ money," she said, fully prepared to tell him off.

"Okay, okay it's _your_ house. I get it. Enough with the pronouns already!"

Of course, Tifa hadn't expected Reno to say he was sorry for barging into her house, but the fact that he didn't still infuriated her.

"Listen Reno," she started as she walked towards him, pausing slightly as her foot bumped into something on the floor. She kicked it out of her way and kept going. "You came into my house UN-INVITED. I have every right to call the pol—"

She stopped dead when she heard a loud "SLAM!" _No way… no WAY… I can't be THAT stupid!_

Tifa spun around to find that the basement door had closed behind her. "Oh _no…_"

She breathed, looking increasingly horrified. _It must've been the piece of wood I walked into… it was holding the door open. _Hindsight was truly useless.

"You IDIOT!" she yelled at Reno. "This is YOUR fault!"

He raised his hands in defense. "What did I do now?" he demanded, seeming annoyed. Coming in her house seemed to pale in comparison to whatever she was raving over at the moment.

Tifa fumed silently, now at a loss for words. _If he hadn't made me so mad I could have paid more attention! _She supposed blaming Reno for her carelessness didn't change what had happened, but it sure made her feel better.

"Don't you get it!" Tifa suddenly found her voice. By the look on his face he definitely _didn't_ get it. She continued. "We're locked in now! This door won't open from the inside…" she said, rage fading away as she realized how bleak the situation was. _Locked in a basement with Reno… oh GOODY._

"Right, okay, so, we're locked in. Now… how is this my fault exactly?" Reno asked with sarcasm.

She gave him a dirty look and sat down on a stack of crates in the corner, arms crossed. _Better get comfortable…_

Reno shrugged at her lack of a reply, and helped himself to a bottle from a nearby box.

Tifa watched him from the corner of her eye. "Do you plan on paying for that?"

Reno took a sip. "No way. You owe me one, remember?"

She snorted. "I thought I owed you sex on the beach."

He grinned at her. "Oh don't think I've forgotten about that. But you obviously can't give me proper compensation until we get out of here."

Tifa groaned and leaned against the wall. _This is HELL._

Reno took a crate opposite her. "Aww, now don't be like that. This could be fun!" She glared. "No really! I mean, we're surrounded by liquor, you have the pleasure of my company…" More glaring. He continued anyway. "And I, for one, am _thoroughly _enjoying the view."

Tifa had to break her silent streak to point out the fact that he wasn't making any sense. "Reno, we're in a _basement_. Do you _see_ any windows?"

He looked around the room. "Well no…" His eyes fell back on her. "But when you wear a shirt like that, I don't exactly need windows to get a good view."

She was more embarrassed than angry at his comment. Lucky for him too—he was sure a remark like that called for some serious bruising. Tifa's face turned red and she pulled her knees to her chest, avoiding his eyes.

It apparently wasn't the first time her choice of clothing resulted in such observations. When Reno considered that, he even felt a little bad. He almost felt like apologizing.

Almost. Showing regret wasn't something he chose to do often, unless the situation really called for it. He didn't think this was one of those times. He watched her shiver from the damp air of the cellar, still quiet and still not looking at him. The silence grew uncomfortable and he broke it abruptly.

"Here," he said, removing his blue jacket and offering it to her so she could cover up. "Save me from myself."

Tifa eyed Reno and the jacket skeptically. _There must be some ulterior motive here. _It was sad that an ultimately kind gesture seemed threatening when coming from him. She mentally shrugged. He was being nice—no need to turn it into something potentially dangerous.

She took the jacket and put it on hesitantly. "…Thanks," she said, once again refusing to meet his eyes. Reno just responded with a flippant wave of his hand. His brief chivalrous act was clearly done with reluctance.

The silence resumed. Once again, he was the one to speak.

"You want some?" he offered, motioning to the bottle in his hand. She shook her head. Reno was perplexed. Sure, it was a bit bold of him to be offering alcohol she'd purchased and paid for. _But what sensible person turns down a free drink?_

"What," he challenged, "Can't handle your liquor?" Tifa just sighed in frustration.

"I just have no urge to drink," she stated simply, looking quite willing to let the conversation die, but adding clarification before he could ask the inevitable 'Why not?' "After seeing dozens of complete idiots drink themselves stupid everyday, I don't feel much of a need to go do the same myself," she explained.

Reno briefly wondered if the "complete idiots" bit was an indirect shot at him, but thought better of saying anything. He'd look pretty paranoid if he pulled THAT one outta thin air. He just nodded slowly.

There was something about being in a basement that made everything a whole lot quieter. It was starting to border on unbearably awkward.

Tifa had been going out of her way to avoid any interaction with Reno, but curiosity took over.

"So um…" he looked up from his vacant staring at the concrete floor to meet her eyes when she talked. "How long are you staying here? I, um, mean in Costa, not in my… house…" she faltered as nervousness set in. She was a little discouraged when all Reno did to answer her was shrug. _Well this is going nowhere fast…_

"…So where's the rest of your motley crew?"

Tifa rolled her eyes. "I told you that already."

"Not exactly. What about Cloud?" Reno stared at her intensely, knowing she'd have to cave sometime.

She huffed in annoyance. "I told you about him too, so stop asking," she pulled his jacket around her more tightly, shying from the cold.

"Nuh-uh. I'm gonna keep asking 'til you tell me what I wanna know," he leaned forward still staring her down.

The thought of Reno asking her "_What about Cloud? What about Cloud? What about Cloud?"_ for however long they were to be down there was enough to make Tifa more willing to answer.

"Alright… what do you want to know?"

_Bingo._ "I wanna know about you and Cloud."

"… Me and Cloud?"

"You and Cloud."

"…Oh…"

Reno raised an eyebrow when she didn't say anything after a few moments. "Well?"

She fidgeted. "I-I'm not really sure what you're asking…"

_Oh come on it's not that difficult of a question!_ "Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. Did you and Cloud ever get together? You know, ever share a bottle of vodka and things got a little out of ha—"

"_Okay_, so I know what you're talking about," Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why do you care anyway?"

He grinned. "Does it matter?" Her look said it did. He gave. "I just think it's… I mean, the guy's an idiot," he ignored the gaze of death she was giving him. "You're really too good for him when you think about it, you know?" Reno really had a few more comments on Cloud, but it seemed that wasn't the best way to go.

Tifa blinked. _Where in the world did THAT come from?_

He didn't like the way she was looking at him incredulously, but he meant what he said. "I've seen it enough times to know. A guy that clueless doesn't deserve the attention of a woman who will fawn over him no matter how much he ignores her," Reno was kind of rambling now, and he wondered if he was giving the impression of trying to comfort her.

…Not that it would be the end of the world if he were nice, but still. "Don't worry, he'll come around," he assured her.

Tifa just donned a chagrined smile and nodded. Reno didn't really know HALF of what had gone on in the past while, but there was no point in trying to explain that to him. He probably didn't care enough to know, and she wasn't certain she wanted him to have that information either.

"Thanks," she tried not to look like there was more to it than that.

Reno nodded too. "Don't mention it," he said casually. _Seriously…_

She considered taking offense to the fact that he thought things still hadn't changed between her and Cloud. _Does he think I'd just let things go on the way they were? _That wasn't to say that things had improved. They'd changed, but certainly not in your average fairy tale way.

"…So you're living here then?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I just bought this place. I haven't even taken the sign down outside."

He looked around. "It's a nice house," he commented, reflecting on his initial reaction.

"Isn't it?" she said, beaming.

Tifa had brightened up considerably—talking about her new home did that to her. She seemed to forget to be angry at Reno for being in her house. Now that she thought about it, he probably didn't know anyone was living there. The open door and the "for sale" sign must have been misleading.

"And my bar's going to open soon! Once I get all my stuff sorted out and everything. I'm really excited!" she grinned at him again, and he smiled back.

Reno's smile was genuine. It was fun making her angry, but it could be a little boring when everything he said would just put her in a sour state. Strangely, he found Tifa a lot more pleasant when she wasn't moody or pissed off.

"I'll have to stop by sometime," he said, knowing full well he was already planning to. He was surprised when she didn't look against the idea.

"Oh that'd be great! I'd love to have as much business as possible," she finished still looking happy, then remembering that she was trapped in her own basement, sitting on her own supplies. She frowned.

She was really anxious to get everything in her bar moving; get her life back on track. But now she was locked in a basement, and her progress was seriously hindered.

"Ya think we'll get out of here?" Reno asked.

Tifa just shook her head in uncertainty. "I don't know. We'll get out eventually, for sure, but who knows when? The only other person who would think to stop by is Butch, the man who owns the materia stall by the inn. He's somewhat of a realtor around here," she said.

Reno looked amused. "That guy? You mean the one that looks like a potato?"

She laughed. "Yes, that's him. Maybe with some luck he'll come by to check on me or something…"

Reno found that he didn't want to be let out too soon. Being stuck alone in a basement with Tifa definitely held certain appeal…

She also was astonished to discover that she'd manage to be in the same room with him for more than five minutes without wanting to kill him. Maybe he was growing on her? _No… the only way Reno grows on people is in more of a parasitic nature._

They didn't talk for a moment, but then their eyes met and he grinned. He looked like he was about to say something, but then they both heard a noise upstairs.

"What was that?" he asked.

"I have no idea…" she said, then nearly fell over when the door unexpectedly swung open. 'Potato-man' –also known as Butch—was on the other side.

"Tifa," he started, heading towards her. "I forgot to give you this key for the basement door," he said, handing it to her. "Damn thing'll lock you in if you aren't careful!"

She could have screamed at the irony. No one spoke and the man looked at her and Reno.

_Oh man… he thinks Reno and I were… DOING something._ She could see that plainly on his face. Their expressions of surprise and embarrassment when he came in probably did look suspicious.

"Anyway… I've got to get back to my stand," and he left.

Tifa just shook her head and anticipated Reno leaving after him.

Suddenly she felt Reno behind her, his hands on her shoulders and his face barely an inch from hers. She stiffened.

"What are you doing?" her words tumbled forth a bit more quickly and apprehensively than she intended.

Reno laughed darkly and Tifa was all too aware of how close his mouth was to her ear. "I was trying to take this back," he pulled his jacket off of her.

She barely moved. "…Oh…"

He put his jacket on and smirked at how uncomfortable she looked. He stood at her side and placed his hand on her shoulder. "C'mon, lighten up!"

She cast a glare at him through the corners of her eye, waiting for him to leave so she could go back to what she was doing. He continued smirking.

"Well babe, it's been fun," he said, removing his hand with intent to head towards the door.

No sooner than Tifa had felt his hand leave her shoulder, she felt it give her a brief slap on fabric of her mini-skirt. Not painfully, but enough to make her jump. She was shocked and angered beyond all rational thought, and by the time she had composed herself enough to react, he had already exited her house.

_Ugh, I'll KILL him!_

OoOoOoOoO

Needless to say, Reno was pretty pleased with himself. He wasn't entirely sure what made him do it… other than the, well, _obvious_ reason. Maybe he got a kick out of embarrassing her.

He strolled back to the inn, reveling in his achievement. But he suddenly swore aloud once he realized. _God Dammit, she avoided my question again!_ He must've gotten distracted…

Nah… that couldn't be it.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**There it is folks. Chapter 2. How's it going so far? Everyone would be happy to hear about it. Reviews are much appreciated. **


	3. Chapter 3

Welcome to installment number three: the chapter affectionately nicknamed 'The Sucky Filler Chapter' XD My co-creator would protest my publicly referring to it that way, but oh well. I guess there's not much else to say. But, well, despite the nickname, this isn't quite as filler-y as it sounds. So read. Yes. And review.

**XXXXXXXXX**

It had been a week since the unfortunate basement incident, and Tifa was too busy to dwell on what happened. She'd left the next morning for Corel, so she could collect her things from where she was staying with Barret and Marlene, and return to Costa del Sol for the opening of her bar.

Things were really picking up, and she was excited. She took the last of her luggage to the basement of her house—the "For Sale" sign was long gone—and standing near the doorway, she remembered what Reno had done before he left.

She narrowed her eyes. _Well I hope that one little slap was worth it to him._ Then she grimaced, realizing that, to Reno, it probably was.

She shook her head, knowing she should let it go. He'd gotten his cheap thrill, and the whole annoying ordeal was a thing of the past.

Tifa crawled into bed and fell asleep, taking satisfaction in knowing that her bar would open soon, and Reno's vacation _had_ to be over by _now._

OoOoOoO

Tifa could never have predicted the amount of people that would come to her bar—and on opening day! Running a bar in the slums of Midgar was certainly different than running one in a popular resort town. She wasn't even entirely sure she could handle it: she'd already broken up five fights, and she was exhausted. She decided that hired help would be in order, but for the time being she'd have to take care of things on her own.

She could do it.

It was near closing, and only a few stragglers remained. She reminded them every few minutes that it was time to leave, and they only grunted irritably in response. After nagging at them for long enough, they finally left.

Tifa sighed in relief and fatigue as she said goodbye and started cleaning up. She'd actually managed to get rid of them a few minutes before the bar was technically closed.

She nearly screamed in frustration when she heard another chime from the door. The bar hadn't _officially _closed yet, and therefore whoever was stopping by had every right to be there. She couldn't bear the thought of having to serve another customer, especially when people around there had the tendency to overstay their welcomes.

Of course, it didn't make things much better when she noticed that it was Reno who had come by to interrupt her peace.

She didn't say a word and neither did he as he sat down in the same seat he'd taken when Marlene had led him there against his will. However, he knew exactly what he was getting into when he dropped by this time. Tifa was silent, waiting for him to tell her what he wanted, be it a drink or otherwise. He looked at her expectantly as well. Seeing that he wasn't here to make things easy for her, she asked the first thing that came to mind.

"Still here, are you?" she tried to act casual, masking how shocked she was to find him there after all the time she'd been away.

He grinned. "Happy to see me?"

"More like amazed. Vacationing?" she wouldn't be surprised if he planned on 'vacationing' for several months.

He continued grinning and shook his head. "Guess again," he defied. She looked perplexed. Reno elucidated.

"I _live_ here now," he smiled wider at the look on her face. "You and me are neighbors!"

Tifa couldn't believe what she was hearing. Lucky her—just as soon as her bar opens, Reno moves in. She tried not to look miserable at the news. True, he was a royal pain, but he had proved that he COULD be a nice person sometimes…

…If he really wanted to. Sadly, that didn't happen nearly often enough. _Oh well._ She reasoned. _As long as he's a paying customer, right? Business is business._

"You bought a house?" she asked. It wouldn't seem strange to her if Reno were just freeloading off of someone, or finding a new place to stay every night.

He leaned back, looking pleased with himself. "Right next door in fact," he said.

She knitted her eyebrows. "Johnny's place?"

He sat a little straighter. "Yeah, you know him?"

Tifa nodded. "Oh sure," she said. "We go way back. We were friends in Sector 7," her face suddenly fell when she remembered how life used to be in Midgar.

Reno noticed her change in expression, and he knew Sector 7 must have been a sore spot, especially with him around. He could see that she was avoiding his eyes.

"I'm sorry about that, you know," he said. He knew she'd lost the life she'd made for herself in Midgar when the plate fell—blown up by the bomb he had planted.

She just closed her eyes and shook her head. "Reno, don't even bother. I know you're not—"

He cut her off. "No, I mean it. I may take pleasure in pissing people off, but crushing thousands of innocent people isn't exactly my idea of fun. I would actually understand if you'd literally be trying to kill me right now. But you're not," Reno hadn't thought about it until that moment, but now that he did the whole thing seemed off. "…Why aren't you?"

She took a deep breath. "Because… I know why you did it. I-It was your job, and well…" she forced herself to meet his eyes.

Reno remembered the days when was employed. _ A job… I still need one of those._

She continued. "Sometimes… people have to do whatever it takes to earn their keep… to put food on the table. I guess you can say I understand why you did it. That doesn't mean I like it of course… but… if you don't either… that's all that really matters, isn't it? I don't think you're an evil person, Reno, I really don't. I've had to do some things I'm not proud of, you know, so I know I'm in no position to judge you or anything…" she just faded out, feeling like she'd already said what she wanted to, and it had taken a lot out of her.

He watched her, and she looked worn out physically and emotionally. He muttered a simple "Thanks," and she just smiled weakly.

She offered him a drink, and quickly made one for him, but he didn't seem very interested in drinking it. She'd managed to avoid his question last time, and he'd be damned if he was going to let it happen again.

Of course, he'd have to be subtle. "So… You haven't been around lately. Where ya been?"

Tifa looked grateful to move on to a lighter subject. "I had to go back to Corel to get all my stuff… so I can settle into my house and everything," she said.

"You had a place in Corel?"

"Oh… no," she thought she should clarify. "I was staying with Barret and Marlene. Barret moved back to Corel—he's trying to make amends and rebuild. I don't think he could die peacefully if he didn't…"

He nodded. "And how's Marlene?"

Tifa smiled. "Oh she's fine. You know how little girls are," He smiled too. "She was asking about you, you know," Tifa found their discussion of Marlene amusing. _It's like she's all we have in common._

"Was she?" he was genuinely happy to hear it.

"Yeah she's been asking about you a lot. I think it's given her something to talk about since Cloud left," she stated.

That caught his attention. "Cloud was living with you?"

"For a while, yeah," she admitted.

"Yeesh, and still nothing between you?"

"Reno…"

"I mean you'd think if he was living with you he'd at least—"

"Reno!"

He nearly fell off the barstool from being jarred out of his train of thought. "What?"

"There's something you're not getting," she said, sure that she had his attention now. He didn't say anything, just looked at her with interest, so she went on. "Cloud and I, well…" she fidgeted. "We're already, you know… together," she finished, feeling so embarrassed she had to look at the floor.

Needless to say, Reno hadn't been expecting that. _I suppose I don't give them enough credit._ However, it did strike him as a bit unusual that she seemed sad. _You'd think she'd be bouncing off the walls or something._

"Well you don't look very happy about it," he observed.

"Of course I'm happy. It's just… well…" There was so much for her to say, but to Reno?

"It's just…?" he pried.

Tifa glanced at the clock. It was well past closing, and Reno had long since finished his drink. She _could_ tell him to leave, but…

"He told me he loved me."

_The hell? _"This is… a bad thing?" _Women make no sense._

"Of course it isn't, it's just…" she took a deep breath and closed her eyes before continuing. "I don't think he means it."

"What, you think he loves that ancient girl?"

She shook her head. "She had a name, Reno… it was Aeris. And no, I don't think he loves her. That's not the problem. I think… he doesn't know _how_ to love anyone."

Reno raised an eyebrow.

Tifa went on. "He's a very confused individual. I think maybe being stuck in a madman's laboratory for years will do that to a person. I can't remember the last time he's led a normal life. I won't call him selfish, because he isn't, but it seems like now he's really wrapped up in himself… trying to figure things out."

Reno thought for a moment. "Is it really worth it then? Giving everything to someone who can't give it back?"

The same question had occurred to Tifa before, but it always sounded different coming from someone else.

Reno especially. "I used to think it was worth it… like he needs someone to take care of him," she said. "I don't even know anymore… but… you may be right," she looked as though she were about to cry.

He watched her struggle with her conflicting emotions. "Takes a lot out of you, doesn't it? Try thinking of yourself for once. You'd probably feel a lot better," he offered.

She nodded and smiled a little. She was actually hard-pressed to believe that he even took her theory seriously. Her explanation for Cloud not loving her must have sounded like a last attempt at happiness from a desperate woman.

"That's true, it might be good for me, but…" A pained look crossed her face, and he waited for her to continue. "I feel like I've devoted myself to him. What kind of person would I be if I gave up now?" she asked.

"A better one than me," he said. "You've already shown more patience than I ever have. If anyone deserves to be a little selfish it's you. Hell, I'm selfish and I haven't even earned it. I'd suggest you be more like me, but I don't think you'd be too into that, huh?" he flashed her a smile.

She smirked. "No, I don't think that would be a healthy thing for me either. It's definitely a thought though," she added.

"The thing is," he leaned forward on the counter. "You should do what makes you happy—no matter what it is. Well okay… certain things are against the law, but if it makes you happy and it's not hurting anyone, then why not go for it?"

"But I don't even know what makes me happy anymore," she confessed.

He grinned. It was the same devious grin that usually led to trouble. "I could probably help you figure that out," he suggested.

She rolled her eyes. "That's an offer I'd be a bit reluctant to take," she said.

"Aww c'mon you know what I meant," he insisted.

"Actually, I don't," she said, showing the trace of a smile. "Therein lies my hesitance. When it's coming out of YOUR mouth I never know what I could be getting myself into," she said, smiling wider.

Reno smirked—it was his thing, after all. "Do you think," he started, looking offended, "That I would say something seemingly innocent in order to imply something impure?"

He grinned again as soon as the words left his mouth, and Tifa knew he was just teasing. _As if I should expect anything less from him._

"What," she asked. "Like asking for sex on the beach?"

"Why yes, now that you mention it," he went on. "That's a fine example. It was a perfectly reasonable request. But you just HAD to go and overreact and throw me out, didn't you?"

"Yeah, well," she replied sarcastically and surprising them both by laughing, "I do have a tendency to go nuts and kick people out," She looked at the clock. "Now would be a good time for me to do that, actually. Away with you, bar's closed," she added.

He feigned a pout. "Aww, c'mon. I thought we were having fun!"

Tifa crossed her arms.

"Okay fine…" he stood up and fished around in his pocket for some money.

She stopped him. "It's on the hou— …It's on me," she said.

He nodded. "Thanks," he said, and headed to the exit. He stopped at the door. "That doesn't mean you're off the hook you know," he told her.

She looked confused, or at least pretended to.

"Sex on the beach, babe. You still owe me, remember?"

She wasn't entirely sure what made her suddenly loosen up around Reno, but she couldn't help but play along.

"Not tonight, Reno. It's late and I'm tired. Maybe some other time," she told him.

Reno gave her a quizzical look, but she had turned to resume cleaning up. He could swear he'd seen her wink. _Humoring me now is she?_ Normally he'd jump at an opportunity like this, but she'd caught him off guard.

"I'll hold you to that you know."

"Yeah, you do that," came her nonchalant reply. He still hovered in the doorway. Tifa stopped that she was doing to give him a hard look. "Would you let me clean up so I can go home?"

He held up his hands in defeat. "Okay, okay. I'm leaving," he said.

She let out a short laugh. "Good night Reno," she said, shaking her head a little.

He flashed her a killer smile. "G'night. Same time tomorrow?"

She wasn't sure if he was serious, so she shrugged. "Okay sure. But leave before I close next time," she warned.

And with that he laughed, nodded, and left.

Tifa yawned as she finished her work and headed home. The day's crowd had been unexpected, but at least tomorrow she'd know what to anticipate.

OoOoOoO

However, she hadn't anticipated Reno coming back every night just before closing for about a month. Tifa had learned his game by then, and had come to fully appreciate that it was most certainly one that two could play.

He'd make some inappropriate remark, and she'd find some clever way to counter it. She discovered it to be a lot more fun than getting angry the way she would have when she first found Reno in Costa del Sol. She was supposed to be trying to not think about Cloud and have a good time. Lightening up would be a good start.

They'd gotten…. closer if you could call it that. Tifa found herself looking forward to seeing Reno at the end of a long day, and he, too, eagerly awaited visiting her. The rest of his day just felt like a waste.

Bottom line, they both were bored and lonely.

Last call had passed but Reno was still hanging around the way he always did at that time of night. It had become somewhat of a ritual for him to be stubborn while she tried to get rid of him so she could close up.

"For the last time Reno, you can't just annoy me into giving you another free drink," Tifa told him. Seeing him open his mouth for his perfunctory reminder, she added, "And don't even bother asking for sex on the beach either," She smirked at the dejected look on his face. She'd be damned if he didn't bring that up every time he was there.

_She pre-empted me! She's getting good at this playing along thing… Or maybe I'm just getting predictable? _He shook his head. "Aww you know it's not like that!" he insisted. She was just silent as she rinsed another glass and put it on the top shelf.

"C'mon Teef, lemme walk you home," he offered.

She stopped for a moment, trying to read his expression. He seemed to look serious, and she couldn't see the harm in it…

"All right. Just give me a minute, okay?"

He nodded before leaning against the doorframe and waiting for her to finish.

He walked outside when he saw her approach, so she could lock the door behind them.

"Shall we?" he said.

Her answer was a weary smile, and she started to walk home next to him.

There was little talk. It was a cool night—the sea air, no doubt. Tifa must have looked cold, cause she found Reno's jacket over her shoulders again. She hadn't noticed him put it on her, so she missed her opportunity to thank him.

They arrived at her house, but lingered for a moment at the overpass near the entrance of town. Tifa walked to the wall and put her hands on the ledge, admiring the view. It was dark, but the moon was bright, and she could still see the vast expanses of field, as well as the jubilantly lit Gold Saucer.

Reno came up beside her. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she realized he'd put one hand next to him, and the other on her opposite side. She was caught between the wall and his arm, and she blushed with embarrassment.

"So…" he said, giving her a start. "Have you figured out what makes you happy yet?"

She glanced at him briefly before turning back to the landscape. "Not quite… but I'm working on it," she told him.

"Good," he said with a succinct nod. "You'll let me know when you do right?" he asked, and she swore she felt him move closer, and his arm draw nearer to her. Maybe it was just her imagination.

"Of course," she replied, albeit a little nervously.

Moments past, and as much as Tifa was enjoying the scenery, she was beginning to wonder why they were standing there.

"Ya over Strife yet?" his voice startled her again.

She smiled ruefully. "You know it's not that simple, Reno."

He nodded, and the silence resumed for a short while.

"But I think I could…" she added, "With a little time and effort, you know?"

"Well, sure. That's probably the best way to go about anything," he noted.

Tifa couldn't agree more. Being the person she was, it was simply her way to devote time and effort to just about anything. _Good causes, relationships…_

More minutes ticked by, and she found herself fidgeting.

"…Reno…?" she asked quietly.

He looked down at her and found her to appear a bit anxious, like something was burning at her that she just HAD to say, but she wasn't sure if she had the nerve.

"Yeah?" he asked. _This oughta be good…_

"Um… well…" the way he was staring at her made her disinclined to speak. "Can I go to bed now?"

Reno winced at his bad call on where the situation was going. _Swing and a miss._

"Oh… yeah," he said, backing away from her and the wall.

She went to open her door, before she turned back to face him. "I'll see you tomorrow right?"

He donned a cheesy grin. "Rain, sleet, snow or hail baby!"

She matched his grin and giggled. "That's good to hear. Good night, Reno."

"'Night Teef," he said, and lingered a few moments after she went inside.

Deciding he had nothing left to do, he went home as well, already wondering what lame pick-up line he'd use to fluster her next time.

OoOoOoO

The town seemed surprisingly dead when he arrived. Costa del Sol was usually bustling with happy beach-goers, even at such a late hour.

He didn't think much of it—maybe it had just been a slow day.

That didn't affect him in the least. He came there for one reason and one reason only. Once his mind was made up he didn't sway easily.

He walked the deserted streets and suddenly wished he'd arrived earlier. It is difficult to find something you are looking for when there is no one around to ask.

He could already see the futility in performing his search in the middle of the night. He also suddenly wished that he'd stayed longer to gather more information before he set off.

He'd find somewhere to stay for the night—it was for the best. He watched a light next to the local bar go out as he headed toward the inn to book a room.

…She was probably asleep by now anyway.

He settled in, despite how restless he was, and made plans to get up early.

Tomorrow morning, Cloud would try to find Tifa, wherever she was.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**Oh my God, the drama XD Are you feeling the suspense? Yes… I'm sure. If you're interested in the next chapter then reviewing may help it to magically appear sooner… Maybe I should say to do it for John Lennon… that worked pretty well last time XD**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: All right, well. I was waiting to post this until chapter 6 was completed, but the group is having some difficulties. But since so many people wanted an update (and cause I was impatient too) I decided to go for it. So here it is::ta-da! gesture: This chapter and chapter 5 were actually meant to be one. Cept, uhh, once I got halfway through this chapter I realized I'd have to be insane to cram it all into one XD So actually, both chapters are a little longer than chapters 1-3. Hope that's a good thing. Get on with it.**

**XXXXXXXXX**

He was starting to like this "waking up without a hangover" thing. Obviously, Reno would promptly defend his honor when someone accused him of getting piss-drunk all the time. He was mostly a social drinker… you know, the healthy—if you can call drinking healthy—kind of drinking where one can easily side-step claims of being a drunk.

…So he'd had his share of nights drowned in alcohol. The point was that he normally had a reason for consuming so much that he hit the floor. However, whatever reason he had was often some subconscious thing, that he himself would not be aware of until someone called him on it once he came to.

Either way, that hadn't happened in quite some time. He couldn't recall an instance in which it occurred since he moved to Costa, in fact. He had better things to do, which consisted of sleeping late, doing nothing, and trying to annoy the hell out of Tifa. He still didn't have a job, but all his saved money was lasting a lot longer than expected. He found himself able to just do whatever the hell he wanted, not even pretending to look for a job and not feel bad about it.

Not that he was often ridden by guilt. And so, he began another day of shameless lackadaisical existence. Sometimes he wondered what Tifa did during the daytime. Of course, he knew better than to try to find out by visiting her house.

How would THAT appear? No, he wouldn't go seeking her out so blatantly like that. He had an image to think of after all. Instead, he opted to drift around town as per usual, every so often glancing around for ridiculously long brunette hair. He never seemed to have any luck though. Costa del Sol was a lot bigger than it looked. Reno was pretty sure that he could meander around for the whole day without seeing her, simply because of the size of the town and its crowds.

Lucky for him, he knew where to find her at night. Until then, he had another morning to kill. Maybe he'd hit the beach or something. It wouldn't be a shame to bump into Tifa while she was sunning herself in a bikini.

For Reno, a day spent at the shore was spent as a casual observer. He attracted a few strange looks while sitting on a chair in the sand with a drink—old habit and lack of wardrobe options left him still dressed in the standard Turk suit. Maybe it wasn't your typical beach attire, but it was fitting for him, and he looked DAMN good in it, he was pleased to say.

_…Better than all the idiots in their friggin' SPEEDOS._

It appeared a good day to put his sunglasses to actual use, rather than sitting atop his head. The bright sun reflecting off the water was no fun to stare at, and how could he watch strangers without looking like a freak when they could see that he was doing it?

He took a brief sip of his drink—soda, surprisingly enough. Any good liquor was a bit outside his oh-so-tight budget, not to mention that anything he made couldn't even compare to what Tifa could mix up.

He damn near choked as he caught sight of an eerily familiar person on the near the entrance to town from the beach.

_Oh no freakin' way! Leave it to him to show up just as Tifa's starting to get over his spiky ass…_

Cloud must have noticed his shocked staring, as he turned towards him. Reno saw his vacant gaze turn somewhat hostile, so he beamed at the blonde to further his irritation. Predictably, the 'pointy-haired idiot' marched over to confront him.

He pretended not to notice him, continuing to stare out across the ocean and sip from his soda can. Cloud stood there staring at Reno, who was surprised by his first question.

"…Have you seen Tifa?" he asked, looking pained to ask the former Turk for help.

Reno lifted his sunglasses and squinted up at him. "Tifa…?" he repeated.

Cloud's glare hardened. "Don't pretend you don't know who she is. You've seen her plenty of times… she's kicked your ass on most of those instances in fact," he added, for effect.

Reno found it in him to stand up. "Hey, I resent that!" Where did some psycho muscle-y guy with a gigantic freakin' sword get off insulting a skinny guy who… used to carry a mag-rod but didn't have one at the moment? It made him think of Cloud as one of those beach bullies from the movies.

…Would that make him the weak nerdy guy who gets his woman stolen?

The blonde snorted. "Yeah I bet you do. What kind of Turk are you anyway, getting beaten like that?"

"I'm not one anymore, thanks. Thought you'd like to know that before you start with all the shit about me being ShinRa's lap dog or something," he crossed his arms. He'd heard that one far too many times.

He only got an exasperated sigh in response. "I don't care. Have you seen Tifa?"

Reno's demeanor turned obnoxiously smug. He suddenly realized the position he was in. There was Cloud, a total jerk-off and former enemy no less, trying to find Tifa, who had spent his absence trying to forget about him. Not only that, but in that time, she'd relied on Reno for company and camaraderie… he'd conveniently squeezed in as a distraction. Now, when Cloud finally returned to ruin everything for everyone, he had no idea where to find her.

Oh, it was TOO good.

He, on the other hand, knew perfectly well where to locate Tifa, having seen her every night for such a long time. Anyone else would have happily disclosed such information, but Reno just wasn't one of those people. "Can't say I have."

Cloud looked crestfallen. "I guess I'll check that bar near the materia stand next then," he said.

Reno peered off in the distance at Tifa's bar, acting as though he'd never taken notice of it before. A barely perceptible smirk crossed his face. "Nah, I wouldn't try there… it's not open… new management and stuff," he told him.

Cloud was reluctant to believe anything an ex-Turk told him, but the bar looked pretty empty. The lights were all off and there seemed to be no sign proclaiming a name. He frowned, finding Reno to be right, and didn't even care to look at him again.

"…I'm gonna go keep trying to find her," he said, looking towards town then heading in that direction.

Reno gave a delayed scoff and had another taste of his drink, which was becoming flat and warm. Grimacing, he checked his watch and frowned even more. Tifa's place wouldn't be opening for hours. The threat of sunburn was looming.

Maybe he'd just… lie around the house until it was time to go to the bar.

OoOoOoO

"C'mon baby… gimme a kiss."

It was a phrase Tifa had heard from about a thousand drunken men, but having it come from Reno was a new one.

She had no idea what had possessed him to drink so much. Judging by how often he visited her bar, she could assume he was a man who enjoyed his liquor. But she'd never seen him get so…well— the term 'shit-faced' came to mind. It wasn't an expression she herself often used, but she thought that would be how he'd describe it—and it certainly seemed appropriate.

"I don't think so Reno," she replied. She liked to think she'd gotten pretty good at handling these situations. It was usually the same old routine.

"Aww…" he slurred. "Why not, huh?"

She looked at him with boredom. "I don't kiss men when they're drunk. It's part of my policy," she explained offhandedly. She was still contemplating what made him get so trashed. At least he hadn't passed out or vomited on her floor. That was never pretty _or_ fun.

It had started like any other night. He came in at his usual time—way too late. He looked like he had something to say, but instead he just ordered one drink after another, and Tifa couldn't help but wonder why.

He lowered his head and seemed to think very hard about something. "S-so… you mean… if I was like… sober n'shit, you'd do it?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes. "Sure, Reno. I'll make a deal with you," She placed her elbows on the counter and rested her chin in her hands. "If you come to me, sober, and you can remember having this conversation, you can have a kiss—I promise." she said to his vacant stare.

Tifa knew exactly what she was doing. Her assurance was enough to shut him up for the rest of the evening, and she was sure he was WAY too drunk to remember her even giving her word at all once the alcohol worked its way out of his system. She wouldn't have to hold up her end of the deal, and no harm done.

Reno seemed content anyway. "Okay!" He grinned through half-lidded eyes.

She wanted to start cleaning up, which she usually did while he was still there, but seeing how inebriated he was, she'd feel better if he left first.

"Why don't you go on home Reno?"

"I ca-an't!" he loudly protested. "I gotta walk you ho-ome!"

She sighed. "Considering the state of things, Reno, it would make more sense for me to walk YOU home," she said.

He paused for a moment, thinking. "…Well we're just goin' to the same place anyways right?"

"No. I go to my house, and you go to yours. You know, YOUR house? Go outside and hang a right?"

"Oooh… is that supposed to be an offer?" he asked, trying to flirt through his drunkenness.

Tifa shook her head. "That doesn't even make any sense Reno…"

The stupid grin left his face and he hung his head in contemplation.

She'd had enough. She was tired and didn't care to baby-sit a highly intoxicated Reno. She circled the bar and grabbed him by the elbow, dragging him towards the door. He was too disoriented to struggle.

She dropped him at his doorstep, and started to walk away, but he just looked at her expectantly. She could figure exactly what was running through his head. She grabbed his shoulders turning him to face his house, and stood on her tiptoes to speak into his ear.

"Go on inside. I'll come by later when I'm finished," she told him.

He seemed satisfied with her explanation, so she pushed him towards the door and left. She knew he probably would have said some more suggestive things if she hadn't confused him so much by hauling him to his front door and racing away.

She wouldn't be going back to his house, especially not for what he probably thought them to be there for. With any luck, he'd fall asleep before he had the chance to realize she'd stood him up.

OoOoOoO

Reno's diabolical little trick on Cloud had worked quite well. After being told that the bar was not open yet, Cloud pretty much steered clear of it and searched every OTHER area of town about ten times.

After the eleventh and twelfth times, he began to wonder what in the world he was doing, trusting the word of a Turk so blindly. He decided to check the bar anyway.

He stopped by the locked door and noticed the sign.

"Sorry, we're CLOSED.

**Hours of operation:**

Monday through Saturday: **6 PM to 2 AM**

Sunday:** CLOSED"**

So the bar WAS open for business. He could clearly see that by glancing in the window at the bottles and glasses on the shelves, the chairs on the tables. But then why had Reno told him it was closed? Tifa had to be working there, or have some association with it, and Reno knew it. _Was he just doing it to mess with me?_ He didn't even want to think it could be anything else. Tifa HAD been in Costa an awfully long time…

It was very late, and the bar was without a doubt closed, as the sign said—it looked empty and pitch black, and it wouldn't be open again until late tomorrow. If this was indeed Tifa's bar, and she was making a permanent living there, then he'd have to go to Corel to get all his things so he could stay in Costa too. He'd go back to the inn to sleep, go to and return from Barret's, and come back in time to see Tifa.

OoOoOoO

It was as dark and quiet as it was on the first night he arrived. That immediately told him he should've made his trip to Corel quicker. He'd rushed into town as swiftly as he could, deposited his luggage at the inn and made a mad dash for the bar.

Cloud stopped short at the door that blocked his way, bearing the very charming "CLOSED" sign.

He checked his watch. He spent too long going to Barret's… He spent to long AT Barret's. It was 2:12—the bar was closed. Not only that, but it would be closed tomorrow ALL day for Sunday. He pounded his fist on the wall in aggravation at himself for taking too long, at Barret for having too many things to say, at Reno for being too obnoxious to give him correct information. His incensed punch caused violent sound and vibration, especially in the still air of the night. He heard stirring inside.

Now he noticed that there were still a few lights on. He could hear footsteps approaching the door. His first instinct was to turn around and flee before someone came and discovered him, but that made no sense, so he stayed frozen where he stood.

A tired but strangely happy—was she laughing? —Tifa opened the door, monotone rehearsed words already reaching Cloud's ears, even before she was in sight.

"I'm sorry, but we're clos— Cloud?" the humor in her face was replaced with calm confusion.

It figured after looking for her for days he wouldn't know what to say when he found her.

"H-hi Tifa," he said, scratching the back of his neck in his characteristic nervous way.

"Cloud," she said, somewhat strangely, and he took her expression as slightly un-readable. She strode forward and embraced him, his arms finding their way around her as well.

She stepped back and gave him a smile that seemed a little less bright than what he normally expected from her. "Come inside," she offered, taking his hand and leading him through the door.

"So this is your—" Cloud started to inquire about her new place of business, that is, until he caught sight of who was seated near the counter.

"Hiya Cloudie!" Reno greeted him loudly, beaming with enthusiasm.

Cloud just stared at him, conflicting emotions passing over his face. Anger… confusion… he was at a loss for words.

Tifa spoke up instead, the unease plain on her face. "Cloud… um, you know Reno."

The longer Cloud stared at Reno—still grinning— the more furious he seemed to become. He brushed past Tifa to confront Reno, who more readily stood this time to look him in the eye.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

Reno was starting to get annoyed. "What kind of question is that? I have just as much a right to come here and get a drink as anyone else."

_Fair enough,_ Cloud mused. But the fact remained that he'd been given intentionally poor advice from the man in front of him. Sure he had a right to come and get a drink, but the bar was CLOSED. Why was he here, alone with Tifa, after hours? The whole thing appeared _off _and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. Something about ShinRa employees—even former ones—always got him wound up. He rolled his eyes.

"Okay… fine. But why did you tell me yesterday that Tifa wasn't here when you obviously knew she was?"

Tifa raised an eyebrow. _They saw each other earlier? Was that why Reno was acting so—nah, couldn't be. _She was still curious about whatever exchange they'd had that Cloud was so miffed over. _Reno told him not to come here…?_

Whatever it was, it was clearly between them, regardless of the almost immediate mention of her name. Truth be told, she was tired as hell, and she'd rather just stay in the background and listen quietly while they had their little spat.

Reno shook his head with a sarcastic knowing smile. "When did I ever say she wasn't here? I said—and I quote—'I wouldn't try there, it's not open, it's under new management.' So tell me, where in that sentence did I imply Tifa wasn't here?"

That was a giant loophole if Cloud ever heard one. "You KNOW what I mean. My point was that you—"

"What, that I lied?" Reno challenged. "Check again, genius. I never lied. I'll admit that I'm going on a MAJOR technicality, but you should know I'm just doing it to piss you off. I'm your friendly neighborhood pain in the ass. But don't call me a liar just cause you're too slow to figure that out for yourself."

Cloud was normally, if not a rational person, too aloof to get so emotional over trivial matters. But he was exhausted, physically and mentally, and his fuse was shortening with each passing second.

"Listen—" he started, grabbing the front of Reno's shirt and pulling him forward before he cut him off.

"Hey, whoa, yeah, okay, ya wanna step back there Happy?" Reno said, keeping his sardonic tone, for the sake of not looking _entirely_ like the bad guy by getting completely mad and losing it.

He was definitely tempted though. _Cloud is such a tool._

Cloud's patience was wearing thin as well. He wasn't proud of the way he was acting, but he was pretty sure he didn't care anymore. He narrowed his eyes.

"Tch, make me," he defied. Reno gave him an unimpressed condescending look. He fought the urge to roll his eyes—losing eye contact now meant losing the whole angry staring contest. Yeah, like his ego would let him do that.

So Reno pushed him backward. Honestly, what was he expecting?

…It must have been something else, because Cloud looked violated.

Tifa's trepidation was growing as she could see the situation swiftly getting worse. She tensed behind the counter—Cloud pushed Reno as well, and he didn't hesitate doing the same back to him again.

She was next to them in a flash, just as Cloud was about to throw a punch. She grabbed his arm in mid swing and pulled him back by it so she could stand between them.

"Oh for the love of—would you two give it a rest?" They both looked somewhat ashamed, but too full of the delightful male ego to fess up to doing anything wrong.

"Ugh, I am SO sick of breaking up fights!" It was uncanny how what seemed to be such mellow happy, beach going people turned into such animals once they broke out the booze. She really hoped that the fifteenth fight of the day would have been ANYONE but these two. They were both trained professionals—heaven forbid they get really angry and tear each other apart.

…That gave her an idea.

The men were watching her expectantly, waiting for her to make her point.

"You two," she started, pointing to both sides for effect, "Are gonna break them up for me."

Cloud's silence didn't surprise her, but she thought Reno would have opened his mouth by now. It seemed she had their rapt attention, so she continued.

"You're gonna work for me now, got it?" They attempted to speak but she cut them off. "Neither of you is working, right?" Nothing. "Right. So Cloud, you come in when the bar opens and finish at five. Then Reno, you come in and leave at closing."

Reno noted that she planned to keep him around at the usual time.

"…And do what?" Cloud asked.

"Just… I dunno… keep the peace!" Tifa burst out.

It was all too much for Cloud to process at once. "But Tifa—"

She put her hand on his arm, hoping to redirect the situation. "Come on, let me make you a drink," she said. She resumed her position behind the bar, and Cloud sat in Reno's 'spot.'

Reno glared at Cloud behind his back, and Tifa motioned for him to go sit at one of the tables. He chose one in the corner, happily reclining with a foot on the edge of the table.

Tifa fixed Cloud his drink and set it down before him. She hesitated before asking the first thing on her mind. "…Where have you been?"

"I've been… doing things," he answered, not looking at her. Reno rolled his eyes.

Tifa shot him a look and averted her attention back to Cloud. "Cloud, if I wanted an answer like that I would've just stuck to your letters."

He felt bad for making her worry. "Well… I went to Barret's," he said.

"…Yeah?"

"Yeah. He wants to know if you can watch Marlene for him next week."

Tifa felt like he was avoiding the subject. "Oh… oh sure of course," she said absentmindedly.

"Marlene's coming?" Reno piped up with a grin.

Tifa smiled at him. "She'll be happy to see you," she said, and noticing Cloud's stare, cleared her throat. "Right. Anyway, you were gone when I LEFT from Barret's and was there not too long ago, so I know you weren't there the whole time."

Cloud fidgeted before going on. He didn't want Reno there, but there wasn't much he could do about it. "I went to see Zack's parents in Gongaga… I wanted to tell them what happened to their son and… I wanted to see what they could tell me about him. And find out more about who I really am…"

Tifa frowned. To her, if he wanted to know more about who he was then she would have been the right person to go to. She was the only one who grew up with the "real" Cloud.

Reno scoffed. He wasn't amused by Cloud's story either, and Cloud wasn't amused by his scoffing at it. Tifa could tell that he was suppressing his agitation at Reno's presence, and his capacity to do so was waning.

"Reno, would you—"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm goin' already," he said, on his way to the door before walking through it.

It was quiet and Tifa sighed heavily. This was going to be a longer night than she thought.

"Tifa, why was he here?" Cloud asked, narrowing his eyes a little.

"What are you talking about? He's a paying customer Cloud," Tifa lied through her teeth. Ever since she'd given him his first free drink, she hadn't made him pay for another one.

Cloud looked down at his drink. "I guess so. But—"

She gave him a tired smile. "Don't worry, I can take care of myself," she assured him.

He didn't say anything. He was still worried, but he new better than to argue with her over something like that. _Of course she can take care of herself._

The conversation was going nowhere and Tifa didn't have the patience. "Cloud? Would you mind heading out so I can get this place cleaned up?"

He nodded and started to leave before she thought of something.

"Wait—where are you staying? I don't have any room at my place. I haven't bought much furniture—I'm waiting until I earn more money from the bar—so all I have to sleep on is a twin bed… which is… mine, of course," she said with guilt.

"Oh don't worry about it. I'll stay at the inn," he told her. He'd have felt bad about moving in with her so suddenly anyway.

She nodded. "Good night Cloud."

"Good night Tifa."

She started wiping down the counter as he left. A few minutes later, she heard the bell on the door ring again. She didn't need to look up to know who it was.

"I didn't think I'd gotten rid of you for the night."

XXXXXXXXX 

**Well, there ya go. If the chapter seems a little boring it's mostly because all of the crazy insanity that was supposed to be a part of this got shoved into the next chapter. Oh well. Chapter 5 will hopefully make up for that. It's more scandal than you can handle.**

**REVIEW. Do it for me. Do it for all ReTi lovers.**

**But mostly… do it for John Lennon XD Because he is my muse.**


	5. Chapter 5

A.N: It's been a while since I wrote this. I remember having a lot of fun and a lot of trouble. Beware forced metaphors. My co-creator and I made it a random goal to include at least one metaphor… and in that process, we discovered that we suck at making metaphors XD So yeah, sorry. Anyway, I'm not entirely sure if this chapter is literally 'more scandal than you can handle,' but it is a least slightly scandalous… and either way, it's a fun rhyming pseudo-title, so deal with it XD (OMG This chapter is freaking long. But I promise it's worth reading thoroughly)

**XXXXXXXXX**

She glanced up at him—he was leaning casually against the doorframe, one leg slightly propped up on the other side. He chuckled and shook his head, eyes closed.

"Am I REALLY that predictable?" Reno asked, turning from the entrance to take his usual place.

Tifa emulated his prior expression before sighing. "I guess you are. Maybe if you didn't come around so often there'd be more mystery in our relationship," she teased. Talking to Reno always made her forget about anything that might be bothering her, and this instance was no exception.

"No can do. I'm the hired help now, remember?" he reminded her, grinning.

She feigned disappointment and frowned. "Oh… right," she said, snapping her fingers. It actually hadn't occurred to her that she was going to be seeing a lot more of him.

The lightness her mood took was depressing in its brevity. It wasn't long before she found herself resting her chin in her hands again, listless at the counter and too deep in thought to clean up like she needed to.

"Yeah so anyway, now that you mention it, I've been thinking," he started, not noticing that she seemed uninterested and started fumbling around on the shelves behind her. Drained or not, she didn't want to be there all night.

He kept talking with her back turned. "If I'm like, workin' for you and shit, does that make me like, your bitch?"

"Shut up Reno."

"Yes mistress," he replied, with the fake demeanor of an obedient puppy dog, quickly following up with yet another mischievous grin.

Tifa had been trying to keep her hands busy to stop herself from thinking too much, but she was rapidly failing. She faced the bar again, leaning on it and cradling her head in her hands, blankly staring at the spotted counter.

Reno frowned. Of course she'd stop playing along once he got to the dominatrix talk. _Figures._ They were both silent and he watched her intently, more intently than she had the tolerance for at the moment.

"…What?" she demanded shortly. There was enough awkwardness going on—she didn't need enigmatic staring.

He shrugged. "Eh, nothing really… Just wondering how the hell you're managing to hold it together," he said simply.

"Reno…" she shook her head like she couldn't even believe they were having this conversation. "I'm _fine_," she insisted.

"Yeah, okay, sure," he said unceremoniously, rolling his eyes.

"Reno," she said again, giving him a hard look. He thought she was going to defend the negative once more, but instead she posed a much more convincing argument. "Give me a little more credit. I think I've survived far worse things than _man_ troubles."

…Even if he'd said it just to be an asshole, Cloud WAS right in saying that Tifa had beaten Reno pretty badly on more than one occasion—he knew first hand that she was tougher than she looked.

"Whatever you say…" he said, humoring her but doing his best to look reluctant about it.

"Exactly. Better get used to saying that if you're gonna be working here," she said.

"Yes mistress," he said. She glared at him but he just grinned in his usual way. He waited for another 'Shut up Reno' but got nothing. She just went back to being mopey.

He huffed. "Hey, I _told_ you not to answer the door."

"Yeah, yeah…" she said vacantly.

"…So what are you gonna do?"

"Do…? About what?"

"Cloud."

"What do you mean 'do'? I'm not going to 'do' anything…" she said absentmindedly.

Reno couldn't decide if this sucked because Tifa was boring when she was upset or he was just genuinely unhappy to see her like that.

…It had to be the former. He was hoping if he got her to talk a little more she'd stop being so bummed. He tried to think of something else to say to her.

"Oh!" she blurted out unexpectedly and he jumped a little. She put her hand on his arm for a brief moment. "I want you to try something for me," she said, turning around and grabbing a glass and a few bottles from the shelves.

Reno raised an eyebrow, confused but intrigued.

Tifa started pouring the contents of a bottle into the glass. "I came up with a new drink," she explained, putting the current bottle down and opening up a different one. "I was hoping you'd tell me what you think… free of charge of course."

He smirked. "Have I ever turned down a free drink?"

She matched his countenance, draining another bottle. "Hmmm, no, but I can always hope. You're going to put me out of business!" she chided.

He laughed briefly, watching her make the drink, waiting for her to finish and let him try it.

"Here ya go!" she said sliding him the glass, cheery despite her need of sleep. She watched anxiously as he tested it, then set the glass back on the counter. "…Well?"

He pretended to give it very serious consideration. "Not bad…"

She lightly smacked him on the arm. "Hey come on!"

"Ahhh, okay, geez, it's good!" he told her, recoiling from her hand. She really didn't know her own strength.

She frowned, feeling like he wasn't answering truthfully. "No seriously…"

"Really," he swore. "I like it. You got a name for it?"

"Ah—well, no," she confessed, blushing faintly.

Reno grinned humorously. "Honestly, what is it with you and not naming things? This bar doesn't even have a name does it?"

The red in Tifa's face deepened. "I was going to name it! Really! But I just didn't have any inspiration, and I never got around to it, and I figured it'd be corny to call it 'Tifa's 8th Heaven' and—"

"How hard can it be to name a friggin' bar?"

"Harder than you'd think!" she insisted, now flustered at his accusations. Was he insulting her lack of creativity? "I mean the name of this place before I bought it was _Bar del Sol_," she said, grimacing at what she considered to be the lamest name for a bar she'd ever heard—worse than 'Tifa's 8th Heaven.' "I like to think that no name is better than that one."

Reno laughed at the name and her look of utter contempt for it. "Yeah okay, that's a pretty shitty name. But anyway, I'm sure inspiration will hit you eventually."

"Yeah maybe…" She sighed, realizing she STILL hadn't cleaned up. The night was just full of distractions.

Reno downed his drink and gazed at her carefully as she made yet another attempt to close up shop by piling glassware into an overstuffed dishwasher. "Where can I put this?" he asked, motioning to the glass in his hand.

She turned around and gave him a puzzled look. "Just leave it there. I'll get it," she told him.

He waved a dismissive hand. "Nah, I'm workin' for ya now, and I'm a pro, remember?" he said, obviously not taking no for an answer.

Tifa stared at him blankly, unsure how she was supposed to respond to that. She fidgeted under his expectant stare. "…Could you put the chairs on the table tops?" she requested, and mentally shrugged as he nodded and set to work. He plainly wanted an order. _Sure, he finally volunteers to help me once he starts getting paid for it. _She mused about his sudden urge to lend a hand instead of just sitting there and being distracting while she did all the work. But help was help, belated or not, and it was certainly much appreciated considering how far behind schedule she was.

With Reno working as well it was much easier for Tifa to concentrate on what she was doing. She put the last glass in the dishwasher and hit the start button, turning around to see him standing in his other "usual spot" in the doorway.

"Finished?" she asked.

"Oh sure, I've been waiting for you. Now hurry it up—I'm not getting any younger!" Teasing and bold-faced flattery were his favorite methods of flirtation.

"Whatever," she replied, joining him at the exit and shutting off the lights as they both walked out.

Their late-night walks to Tifa's house were often fairly quiet, but they both had a lot on their mind.

"…Are you sure you're not going to regret giving him a job? You know you're gonna be seeing a lot of him now. Won't that make things worse?"

She sighed. "Maybe it wasn't the smartest decision, but I mean… I really needed the help, and there you both were—two people I know personally who can definitely break up fights better than I can, and… it just seemed like a good idea," she explained, and he shrugged.

"Besides," she continued, "I hired you too, you know. Are you anxious to be back looking for a job?"

_Note to self: don't question Tifa's actions. _

"It can't be too bad," she reasoned, still talking even though Reno hadn't responded. "I mean maybe he doesn't make me as happy as I'd like but he certainly doesn't make me _miserable_…"

"He's giving you a hard time about me being around isn't he?" he asked.

She grimaced. "Yeah kind of… you heard us talking, didn't you?" It was more of a statement than a question.

He nodded. "I don't have to be around so often you know, if it causes repercussions for you like that. I mean I know I'm already—"

"No," she insisted. "This isn't your fault. And I need you around to help out with the bar and keep me from losing my mind," She sounded unsure when she said it, as if she were trying to convince herself that THAT was the reason she wanted him around, and nothing else.

He just shrugged. "Fair enough. I could use the money anyway."

She stopped at the over pass next to her house. She was exhausted, but still restless. _Sleep won't come easy tonight._

Reno came up beside her. She was under very obvious emotional stress. He couldn't decide if she'd rather be left alone or would prefer company.

He assumed the latter. It looked to him like she was thinking, so he just stood quietly next to her.

"Reno are we friends?" she asked suddenly.

It took him a moment to detach his gaze from the horizon and fix it on her. She looked back at him, waiting for an answer. He carefully studied her expression, trying to read it.

But he couldn't. He had absolutely no idea what made her ask that or where in the world she was going with it.

"'Course," he stated simply, looking back to the landscape as he said it. But his curiosity was not sated. "What else would we be?" He really couldn't help asking.

She furrowed her eyebrows and gave him a look that was somewhat confused and somewhat suspicious.

…And something else… She hesitated—was she hiding something?

"Acquaintances," she said, but she sounded as though she were unsure, even like she was very close to accusing him of something.

Reno knew there was a lot going on in her mind and he could see in her face that she really just could not deal with whatever she was thinking of now. So he let it go.

"Oh… right."

She sighed heavily, leaning on the wall in front of her.

"…You sure you're gonna be okay?" he questioned, leaning forward too so he could look her in the eye.

She smiled sadly, despite herself. "No… I'm not sure."

He could easily see past her charade to the tears forming in her eyes. She took a shaky breath and gripped the edge of the wall tighter, staring off into the distance.

He was a bit hesitant in his next move, concerned what her reaction may be. After concise deliberation, he decided there would be no harm in it, and placed his arm around her.

Tifa blinked back the tears in her eyes. She wouldn't cry in front of Reno, not when he was trying to comfort her. He was already more involved than he needed to be. It was odd: She thought that even though she was trying so hard, the tears were bound to fall anyway.

But they didn't. She moved closer, leaning against him and he held her tighter.

She didn't feel like she wanted to cry anymore.

OoOoOoOoO

Tifa was correct in her prediction that trying to fall asleep on Saturday night would be easier said than done. She'd reluctantly pulled away from Reno outside her door, telling him she should try to get some sleep, and thanking him before requesting that he come in before the bar opened on Monday. She'd heard from Butch that a group of local regulars who'd been vacationing in Icicle Inn was finally returning to Costa. He said they'd grown so accustomed to going there, they would hardly notice that it was under new management.

…Or was lacking a name.

He said they were big guys, and drank, well, a lot. Tifa was already thankful she'd have Reno and Cloud around to settle any fights that broke out.

She'd hired Reno for his need of a job, of course, but she'd also come to terms with the fact that, when it came down to it, she'd essentially hired him for his company. Cloud was a different story, but she also had ulterior motives for hiring him, other than being 'the best man for the job.' Tifa figured he'd pretty much go stir crazy if he didn't have something to do, and Reno was living proof that this was a tough neighborhood to find a job in. Not to mention he'd probably be uncomfortable with Tifa providing all the income, as well as her being with Reno all day. Chivalry could be kind of annoying.

Still, they'd both serve well as hired muscle, the way she saw it.

She sighed as she walked to work. She'd really hoped that her day off could have been more relaxing. She'd wanted to sleep in, as she'd gone to bed late and was stirring for most of the night anyway, but had been interrupted by Cloud waking her up at some ungodly hour for a Sunday morning.

She had been hoping she could get away with not seeing him that day… she really didn't want to. She needed at least twenty-four hours to be away from him, chill out and prepare herself for working with him for four hours every day.

And of course, she found it bothersome that he took her out to buy her furniture for her house. More furniture meant it was more likely that he'd be moving in with her...

Tifa was starting to hate the way she regarded him in her thoughts. She _loved _him. She knew that much. When did everything become so complicated?

_When Reno put the idea in my head that I should do whatever makes me happiest—Cloud not being someone that makes me happy?_

Or maybe just when Reno had come along in the first place.

She wasn't really convinced that Reno was causing any problems, but Cloud sure seemed to think so.

He'd given her hell about it all afternoon. All the _questions._

_"He comes by every day?"_

_"Pretty much, yeah, but so do lots of people Cloud."_

_"What do you mean he calls you babe sometimes?"_

_"I don't know Cloud, he just does. It doesn't bother me. It's not like it means anything..."_

_"…"_

It had been driving her crazy. If he had something on his mind, she wished he'd just come out and say it. But Cloud, unfortunately, wasn't like that.

Neither was she, for that matter, but she wasn't the one acting suspicious.

She sighed, opening the door to her un-named bar and stepped inside. Cloud was already there waiting for her—she'd given him an extra key. She'd thought maybe it'd make him feel better about whatever he was all bent out of shape over.

Tifa greeted him with a half-smile. "Hi Cloud," She looked around. "Reno hasn't shown up yet I'm assuming?"

"No… I didn't know he was coming," he said.

She must have forgotten to tell him. Or maybe she'd intentionally withheld that information… she couldn't remember.

"Right, well… he is. I want to give you two a brief run down of how things are going to work around here."

Cloud nodded and she just sighed again It was going to be a _long_ night. Just as soon as the silence was approaching unbearable tension, Reno burst in.

"Hey babe!" he grinned at Tifa, before narrowing his eyes at Cloud. "Strife,"

Cloud didn't even look at him.

Tifa cleared her throat. "So Reno, like I was just telling Cloud, I want to show you guys—"

There was a loud knock on the door.

She flinched and went on. "I wanted to show you guys—"

The knocking came again, but louder.

"I wanted to show you guys how things are going to—"

_BANG, BANG, BANG._

"Oh for heaven's sake!" she threw up her hands and opened the door. "I'm sorry, but we're not going to be open for a few more minutes. If you could please just—"

She was knocked out of the way by a large man in blue trunks with a cheesy moustache. Needless to say, she hadn't been expecting that: She would have completely toppled over backwards if Reno hadn't caught her when she came flying in his direction.

The man looked around for a moment, then took notice of Cloud.

"Bubby!"

Cloud looked absolutely mortified. "I, uh…"

"Oh Bubby!" the mustachioed man went on, "It's been so long!" he exclaimed, lifting Cloud off his barstool into what looked like a very painful and humiliating hug.

Reno couldn't keep his mouth shut. "…Bubby!" He asked, incredulously. His face was red from suppressing the mocking laughter he so badly wanted to focus on Cloud.

The man looked at Reno strangely, and let Cloud go. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize he was _your _bubby,"

Reno turned even redder, and for a completely different reason than before. "What! Oh _God,_ no! I, uh…" He looked around in desperation and pulled Tifa to him. "I'm with her!"

She was caught off-guard yet again. Of course, she wasn't with Reno in _that_ sense, but she couldn't see the harm in playing along. At least she thought so, until she saw the look Cloud was giving her. "Umm…"

The man smiled and winked at Reno. "It's okay if you're shy. You just let me know when you're ready to let it out in the open."

Reno groaned. Why was his ego constantly in jeopardy? "Look buddy—"

"Hey wait a minute!" Tifa said suddenly, still in Reno's arms. "I know who you are! It's Mukki, isn't it? …Yeah! Yeah, it is you! You're the one Cloud met in the Honeybee Inn and… oh Cloud, I still can't believe you did that…"

Cloud blushed. "I only did it to save _you_…"

"Ooh, did what?" Reno grinned.

"…Nothing, never mind," Tifa said, gently pushing Reno away. If looks could kill, she and Reno would be dead and Cloud a murderer.

Customers started filing in through the open and now very likely damaged door. "Orientation's postponed guys…" she mumbled, walking towards the bar. "What can I get you sir?" she asked Mukki, who had been watching their actions with great interest. He sat next to Cloud, making goo-goo eyes at him, and Cloud looked extremely uncomfortable.

Tifa noticed Reno hovering in the doorway. "You can go now. Sorry about that."

"All right, no problem," he nodded. "We're still on for tonight, right?"

She too nodded, but with distraction. "Of course."

"You'd better show," Cloud said suddenly, eyes narrowing. "I'm not doing all the work myself."

Reno grinned. "Wow, you invited him too? Ménage á trois, huh?"

"Reno please…"

"Damn Teef, that's pretty kinky. I didn't know you were into that sorta thing,"

"Would you please just—!"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry babe. I'm going…"

Tifa sighed as she watched Reno leave. Her eyes drifted to Mukki sipping his drink, his adoring gaze making Cloud shift awkwardly. It was going to be a long night indeed.

OoOoOoOoO

Reno swore and kicked a rock as he walked. He didn't really know why he was so pissed off to not be at the bar. He usually spent a majority of his time AWAY from it, despite the fact that anything else he did was fantastically boring by comparison. But something about leaving Tifa at the bar with _him _rubbed Reno the wrong way. He even felt like he understood where Cloud was coming from, not liking Tifa to be alone with Reno.

_Now where the hell did that come from?_

_Whatever. _He had more time to kill. Maybe he'd catch some sleep before his graveyard shift.

OoOoOoOoO

Migraines _sucked. _One could usually learn that without experiencing one, but Tifa wasn't so lucky. She prodded at her temples, _willing _the pain to go away. Mukki busting in had really opened the floodgates for business, it seemed. With him came more equally muscular and short-short-clad men. The man had a lot of… friends. On top of that, the usual customers had obviously missed her drinks on the _one day _that the bar was closed. She wished they'd have picked some other day to come frantically running back.

She wasn't sure why, and she certainly couldn't have predicted it, but the business died down considerably near the end of Cloud's shift. The same couldn't be said for her headache, however.

Tifa glanced at Cloud through the corners of her eyes. He hadn't been a problem, he really hadn't. She was starting to wonder if she was only imagining whatever dilemma was nagging at her in her relationship with Cloud. Either way, she was stressed out and knew she hadn't been until he'd showed up.

_…But I hadn't felt that way about Cloud _before_, had I? No… No, I don't think I did. So what's changed? I mean I've admitted to myself that I didn't feel happy or fulfilled in my relationship with Cloud. Heck, I've even admitted that to Reno. But… it'd never been an issue until now, right?_

_So what's changed? _It seemed an appropriate phrase to repeat in her head. Maybe her change in scenery called for a new life, one that Cloud wasn't a part of? Or maybe the new company she'd been keeping…?

She shook her head, suddenly concerned she might wear a hole in the counter-top she was wiping down with a rag. _This is too much. _

"Cloud, I think I'm going to close the bar early," She threw the rag down. "These people can finish their drinks, but don't let anyone else in. Oh, and don't put everything away, I might come back later and open it back up. I need the money," she told him as she walked speedily to the door.

He blinked. "Okay, but where are you—?"

"I… I'm going to go for a walk. You can let yourself out and lock up when everyone's finished. I'll see you later," she disappeared through the door.

Cloud shook his head, confused and clueless as ever.

OoOoOoOoO

_Finally. _It was time for Reno's shift. He couldn't help the spring in his step and his incessant, tuneless whistling.

His feet and whistling stopped abruptly when he caught sight of the "CLOSED" sign on the door. He could hear some jackass whining loudly behind him. Reno was going to get to the bottom of this.

He was disappointed to be met with nothing but a few drunkards and the steely gaze of Cloud Strife. He could actually care less about why the bar was closed. Tifa's absence was what troubled him the most.

"Where's Tifa?" he asked, bluntly.

Cloud looked as though he wasn't sure if he should answer. But after consideration, he figured Reno, as an employee, had a right to know where she was. "I don't know really… she seemed upset. She said she was going for a walk."

"Hmm…" Reno thought for a moment. "Well, then, later," he turned on his heel towards the exit.

"Wait," Cloud called after him. "Where are you going? Tifa said she might come back later."

"Well Strife, I'll tell you exactly where I'm going. I'm going to look for her. That's really what YOU should be doing. It's supposed to be the 'boyfriend's' job, isn't it? But seeing how you're here sitting on your ass then I guess I'll just take the opportunity you were so kind to leave me."

"Yeah bye," Cloud obviously had nothing to say, so Reno left, sauntering back outside to the people complaining loudly over the bar's closing.

"Stupid bitch," he heard one man say—that made Reno stop where he stood. "Closed the freakin' bar again. Doesn't that slut know she has fucking customers?" he scoffed.

He didn't even notice Reno turn and come his way—and he never even saw the fist coming. He barely had time to comprehend what had happened before Reno had already stormed off in the other direction, muttering a few of his own insults under his breath. Reno didn't even know what that man wanted with the bar anyway—he seemed drunk enough as it was.

_Okay, now,_ _if I were Tifa, where would I want to be? In her bed? No wait, that's me. _One place came to mind. Her house was the obvious choice, but even more obvious to anyone who knew her, was the overpass just next to it.

But she wasn't there. He tried her house, but received no answer. _Dammit. _He wasn't about to give up, but he apparently wasn't having much luck where he was. When he was walking away, he caught sight of a very familiar figure in the distance. _The lighthouse. Leave it to Tifa to pick an even higher and more dangerous place to think. _

And he'd be damned if it _wasn't _high. _I'm never climbing stairs again. _It was a spiral staircase, so it was hard to tell how many "flights" he'd hiked up, but he'd been at it for what felt like forever and he was exhausted.

Tifa started when she heard footsteps on the metal steps leading up to where she had taken refuge. Had someone come to look for her? It was probably Cloud. She started wringing her hands. What would she tell him if he asked her what was wrong?

Her relief—and surprise—overwhelmed her when she realized it was Reno who had sought her out.

"You've got some pissed off customers," he said, walking towards her.

She tried to smile. "Do I? I figured closing the bar early would be an unpopular move."

"Yeah, I had to take care of this one guy who didn't know how to keep his mouth shut," he declared, folding his arms.

She frowned. "Oh Reno, you didn't…"

He suddenly wasn't as proud of what he did. "Sorry,"

"It doesn't matter," She shook her head, looking out across the horizon.

"So why are you up here?" He felt like he'd wasted enough time. He watched her take deep breaths and grip the railing. It had become very easy for him to tell when she was upset.

"I needed to think," Her answer didn't offer much.

_Well I could have figured THAT out…_ Reno wanted more detail. It turned out he didn't even have to ask.

"I don't know what to do about Cloud."

Regardless of being a heartfelt admission, her choice of words made Reno slightly amused. "I thought you said you weren't going to 'do' anything."

She huffed. "Well I am. I have to. Nothing makes sense anymore. I thought everything was so cut and dry, but it isn't. What's changed?" She repeated it to herself again.

Reno shrugged. "I guess you have."

That struck Tifa. It had to be her that had changed. Cloud definitely hadn't. She changed, he hadn't, and she wasn't happy anymore. She must have been looking for something else in her life now. "You… you're right."

Reno nodded but waited for her to continue. He felt a confession coming on.

"Do you know why I stayed with Cloud?"

His silence was her signal to go on.

"It was because…" she faltered briefly, feeling a bit foolish. "I guess… I don't know. He made me feel safe."

"Safe?"

"Yeah… I guess I just… because…" She stopped to get her bearings. "A lot of it was just that fantasy that every little girl has—to have a knight in shining armor come rescue her when she's in trouble. But it even continued when I got older, too.

"It's something like… I always had so much turmoil in my life, and that stopped me from being happy. But when there was something—or someone—to protect me from all that, I felt like I could be happy again."

"Being safe is the only way you can be happy?"

"Well, maybe not the only way, but it seemed like a plausible way. When someone was around to protect me, I felt like I had nothing to worry about. And that's a big step towards contentment, isn't it?"

Reno didn't know why he was growing exasperated with her whole 'needing a hero' thing. She was a strong woman—perfectly capable of taking care of herself and keeping herself safe. What the hell did she need Cloud for? "You need _him _to protect you? Gee, and here I was thinking you were trained in self-defense."

Tifa knew it was supposed to be a sarcastic, even biting remark, but he made a good point. What DID she need Cloud for? She sighed. "I guess you're right again. Even safety isn't making me happy this time," Perhaps at this point in her life she needed a man who brought her joy because of who he was, not because he liked to play hero.

"Maybe danger turns you on?" She may have still been trying to be serious, but he couldn't help himself.

She laughed faintly. "I'm not so sure about that."

He grinned widely. "Oh no, I think you've got it in you. I mean, look at where you come to think," He peered down at the surf crashing over the jagged rocks near the shore at the base of the lighthouse. She looked over as well. She noticed one rock in particular. She'd seen it before, once when she took a walk by the docks. At the time, she remembered it seemed… out of place.

But time had passed, and since even then its shape had changed. Now she found it, if not beautiful, something she could relate to. Maybe it was a silly thing, relating to a rock, but deep down, she could even feel the connection. Something that seemed so awkward, yet incorrigible, was able to be changed over time and, as far as she could see, the change was for the better.

She saw Reno, still staring intently at what would be inevitable doom were one of them to fall.

"Scared?" She teased, grabbing his shoulders. She made to push him over the railing, before pulling him back at the last second. He very plainly lost his cool, and she giggled a bit, immensely pleased with herself.

He glared at her. "Don't do that."

She smiled innocently at him. Reno, now that she was on a metaphorical streak, reminded her a little of ocean, and its crashing waves. She observed them washing over the rocks. Both were… relentless, but easily changed. Had a way of wearing someone down. _And both loud! Rarely shutting up, too._ She giggled silently to herself.

Tifa caught Reno's eye—had he been watching her? —and they both smiled. She really felt worlds better. Things made a bit more sense now. So _she'd _changed after all—had it something to do with Reno? She wondered though—should she just end the relationship with Cloud, or talk to him and try to make it work?

"Oh hey I've been meaning to ask you something," Reno's voice startled her. She watched him reach into his pocket. It seemed a bit funny to her. _A passerby would think he was proposing or something. _

He took out a piece of paper and started to unfold it. "Does this mean anything to you?"

Tifa took the paper and read its contents. Her eyes widened.

"I found it taped to my door the other day. That's my handwriting, if you were wondering."

She had been wondering, actually—it was terrible.

"I think I wrote it when I was drunk, but I don't remember. Do you remember anything?" He started out as simply curious, but when he could see that she most certainly DID know what the note was all about, he smirked.

She tried to cover up by making fun of him. "Reno, your grammar is terrible."

"Hm?" He raised an eyebrow.

" 'Tifa said I get kissed if I'd sobered up by then. She promised.' "

"Well I was drunk, what do you want from me?"

She said nothing and hoped the conversation was over.

He waited for a minute. "…Well?"

She pretended to have no idea what he was talking about. "Well what?"

"Ya gonna kiss me?"

She prayed for a loophole. "Why would I?"

"You promised. I thought you held promises in such high regard."

"I do, but who says I promised?" Thinking back, she knew that 'I promise' had been her exact words.

"I figure you must have. I underlined it like, four times."

She looked at the note and grimaced, realizing he was right. She was silent.

"…Well?"

They were back to where they started.

"I, um…" Tifa stammered and looked at her feet. She was flustered. True, she DID hold promises very dear, but usually when no intoxication was involved! She hadn't expected him to remember. _Heh, actually, he didn't remember. _He wrote a NOTE. Damn, he was a clever drunk!

She was even more surprised when she noticed he had moved much closer, and his arm had crept around her waist. "I'm not…I-I don't—"

The realization of what happened was shocking. He _kissed_ her. She wanted to be indignant. _He kissed me and I didn't even say whether or not I would! _But she found herself not caring. A cliché phrase popped into mind—_'It seems so wrong, but it feels so right!'_

Was it really so bad? _No. _She quickly decided. _No, not at all. _She HAD promised after all, and a promise was a promise, right? That was all it was… definitely.

She started to lose herself in the moment and that, it seemed to her, _was _bad. Slowly, and—she forced herself to admit it—reluctantly, she put her hands to his chest and pushed him away, ending the kiss, though he still held her to him.

And as she caught sight of frighteningly familiar Mako blue eyes from over Reno's shoulder, she wondered if Cloud thought promises were as important as she did.

XXXXXXXXX 

**A.N: OMG, SHOCKER! Well, I hope that wasn't overly painful. It's long, I know. I honestly didn't remember it being 17 pages… then I went to put in the author's notes and I was like no WAY is it that long.**

**Anyway, this is the end of my run for this fic, and I would totally appreciate lots of reviews.**

**This time I really mean it when I say do it for John. It will have been 25 years on the 8th.**


	6. Chapter 6

New author this chapter!

NEW AUTHOR!

NEW AUTHOR!

_**NEW AUTHOR!**_

It's the lovely and talented ladywinde.

Ladywinde

Ladywinde

LADYWINDE, OKAY!

XD It's really important that I get my point across. Here's her message to you, the readers:

"lady winde here. Well this is my contribution to the group compilation. oo All I have to say is that I have never written a ReTi before and hope I didn't stray too far off course. And if I did well then I certainly hope it's forgivable. It was fun to be a part Miss Savie!"

S'go!

XXXXXXXXX 

"What are ya guys doin?" The pitter patter of little sandaled feet tried to be as quiet as possible as the little girl carried her bucket of sand to her older siblings who seemed far too engrossed in something that was taking place over the trimmed hedges of the lighthouse's gate.

As soon as the words had flown from the toddler's mouth, the elder boy and girl turned quickly to scowl at the curious little girl, raising their fingers to their puckered lips as if at any moment the slightest sound would mean the ever crumbling end of their world and innocent existence.

The little girl scowled at the two, not exactly sure what to think of their crazy behavior which just had to mean her older brother and sister had to be and were most definitely up to no good, her tiny little hands firmly planted themselves on her sides, pouring sand all over her leg as the bucket was pushed against her thigh. "I'm gonna tell ma—"

"You," The elder girl hastily whispered as she snatched up her little sister as she clasped an unforgiving hand against the tot's mouth to prevent any form of audible yelping from escaping; the poor little thing wriggled with all her might, her little arms flailing, "will do no such thing." She hugged the little girl close, chest to back, as the boy and she continued to look at the unfolding events before them.

The boy sent the youngest a sympathetic glance, shaking his head and the poor little hold his partner in crime held her in, "Do you promise to be a good gal and not say a thing Lannie?" Her brown eyes, wide with trepidation, looked up to her sister's face only to meet her disapproving stare, something that clearly signified that if any peeps or rustles were made her head would then become a prime target to the noogie monster.

With a dejected sigh, the little girl slowly nodded her head, knowing that no matter what, her sister had plans for her later. Life was so unfair.

A gentle smile graced his parted lips, a huff of breath escaping as he tried to keep from laughing at the pitiful picture his sisters painted. "Let her go, Sal..."

The elder girl merely huffed, far too irritated to argue and simply opened her arms letting Lannie plop to the ground. As soon as teeny tot feet tapped the cool ground she fled as quickly as a pixie, the little girl finding solace in the comfort of her elder brother's embrace. Though the little cherub was quick to shed her disguise as she stealthily looked back, sticking her tongue out maliciously. Sal could only roll her eyes as the glower settled upon her irritated face in full force.

Before the birth of a snarky remark could blossom in her pubescent mind the slightest of movements beyond the hedges caught Sal's attention, thankfully saving the little one from any possible verbal abuse; at the moment anyway. "...Oh hoho..." She planted both hands on the ground, leaning on her arms as she tried to get a better look. "They're _so_ gonna do it."

Lannie copied her elder sister's awkward position, peering through the leaves to see a pretty lady nervously regard a lanky redhead of a man. The tot could only guess the lady had stolen the man's cookies, a terrible crime to be found guilty of, something she was far too familiar with. She craned her neck upward, trying to make sense of the words that were excitedly whispered above her. With an arched eyebrow, her gaze etched with skepticism she could only query, "Do what?"

It took a few moments for the two words, so innocent in their nature, to fully register in the elder brother's distracted mind. With but a flicker of a moment later his dark eyes widened in alarm and trepidation, "Lannie can _not_ be here!"

As if a knife had been stabbed through her breaking little heart, she gasped dramatically in pain. Betrayed! By her dearest elder brother, "B-but you sai—"

Sal could only interrupt Lannie's squeal of protest by promptly bopping her on the head, a sign the little girl knew all to well that she had better hush or the noogies would be raining with full force upon the very crown of her dark head. "Consider it early edumacation, Jack," she slyly looked away from the spectacle, a coy grin on her face knowing all too well this was going to be a problem. Oh well. "Besides looks like the show is on th—"

"Oh my gawd!" The little girl jumped to her feet, clenched fists shaking in terror at the attack that was happening before her very eyes. What was the world coming to! With a shaking finger, she quickly shoved her finger into the air, as if all the force behind the gesture would flick the evil red head off of the helpless lady. Stealing cookies was a bad enough crime, but _nothing_ deserved the onslaught of... of _them_! "He's shoving his _cooties_ down her mouth!"

Jack and Sal quickly tackled Lannie, the elder girl scowling as both hands sealed a mouth shut, while the boy shakily held down would be flailing limbs. "Freaking mog on a pogo-stick, Lannie! Do you want the cootie monster to attack you?" Sal was beyond furious

The boy continued to look onward through the hedges with a furrowed brow; his eyebrow rising as he curiously noticed the appearance of another. Apparently this new arrival had chosen to appear as he and his sister had skillfully subdued their little sprite of a sibling, sparing them from embarrassing and awkward discovery.

Sal could only cluck her tongue in disapproval, her feminine intuition already grasping and connecting the straws that were neatly placed before her, "Betcha anything that's her boyfriend," she tossed her brother an uninterested glance, already bored with a situation she had seen far too many times from watching soap operas on the little television back at home. Ah soap operas, the definitive truth and guideline to ultimate heartbreak and romance. "He's kinda cute... Wonder if he's gonna punch out Mr. I'm so Rico Suave."

Much to her blasé annoyance, her musings were met with the fluttering lashes of her brother's as he rolled his eyes in response, the only action he cared enough to offer at the moment. Women and their damnable drama... Thankfully, Sal was smart enough to take the hint that was so plainly offered, her whole attention being poured into the somewhat adult situation playing out before them.

Slowly the unknowing couple parted the kiss, the awestruck lady seeming only to gaze up into the man's face with dreamlike reverence. Though as soon as her eyes met that of the obviously heart broken man behind her secretive beau, it was more than evident that there was going to be trouble in paradise.

The woman stepped forward probably offering hasty words lined with awkwardness, though the meaning was lost as they were carried along the wind. Obviously wounded by whatever meaning they might have, it seemed he could take only but one step back as he shook his head in unbelieving response. Perhaps she was seeking some sort of forgiveness. It was really far too hard to tell from the distance that they were perched.

Not once did either man speak. How boring.

Finally taking initiative, the woman stepped forward, an uneasy smile seemed to grace her face... or was it a face covered with the shame of guilt, her arms gesturing slightly as her mouth continued to form unheard words. Apparently the man wasn't in the mood to take notice of any sort of explanation, be it against his favor or miraculously vice versa. With a swift pivot of the heel, the blond made his escape of the situation with long, efficient strides, leaving the guilty couple behind.

The elder girl couldn't help but snort at the surprisingly boring events, "Oh that's just _too_ boring..."

"Quiet, Sal."

So they continued to watch on, observing the woman slump her shoulders as she was left behind with her newly discovered lover. The man stepped up behind her, his fingers taking hold of a dark lock, twirling the threads of hair in his grasp as he leaned in from behind her. Perhaps he was whispering endearing words of encouragement? Saying things like their love would last forever no matter what obstacle life threw at them. Love conquers all baby!

Apparently so full of varying emotion, the woman could only react with a twirl and a blurring fist...

"HA! Oh _no_ she didn't!"

"Sal..."

OoOoOoOoO

Cloud Strife had walked away.

Of all the hundreds of ways and variations to finally settle the situation once and for all, his seemingly unthinking mind chose the one option he hadn't wanted to do. Punch the living day lights out of him? That most certainly was at the top of the list when it came to a most annoying ex-Turk. He couldn't very well deny that it was something he had wanted to do since the first day he made it to Costa del Sol.

His blue eyes narrowed as his thoughts continued to spiral further back, twisting and turning as each memory was meticulously unturned and unforgivably prodded. Since day one, he had that nagging suspicion nipping and biting at the back of his mind. Cloud almost couldn't stop the bitter laugh that was desperately fighting its way out of his chest.

What a complete and utter fool he had been.

But it was far too early to think in the past tense. He couldn't help but dejectedly sigh at the hesitant knowledge that he needed to talk to her. Why were they kissing? _Probably nothing... Nothing at all... But... it was long... longer than what it should have been... _What did this mean to their relationship? _We'll be together right? We... are... together... Yes, together... right? _How long had this been going on? _I... _So many questions, so little will to actually confront her.

He couldn't talk to her though, not now, not when the thought of the mere act in question sent him tumbling into such frantic disarray. He was losing her. A trembling breath escaped his lips as he fell back, defeated, onto his unkempt bed. Losing her... the pain in his chest did little to dissuade him that he was holding onto a dead and broken dream, a battle he feared... no _knew_ that was lost before he even began.

They were growing apart.

Blue eyes rolled over to stare vacantly through the parted curtains of the window, what little they revealed could only serve to match his sullen mood. The sudden flicker of light flickered briefly in the empty glowing eyes, waiting expectantly for what was soon to follow. Like an unmerciful whip, the announcing thunder cracked through out Costa del Sol. As the pitter and patter of rain began to lightly tap against his window, Cloud humbly obeyed its siren command and rose from his bed.

Perhaps his talk with Tifa wouldn't wait after all.

OoOoOoOoO

He kicked the beer bottle out of the way, the glass singing its own little song with each and every clink and clank as it rolled and tumbled out of the road. Despite the dull pain that throbbed every now and then after an occasional sniff, life, he felt, was looking pretty damn good.

All that was missing was some sappy song, probably about rain drops or whatever nonsense, and him skipping along the side walk with a goofy ass grin plastered on his face. ...Maybe even twirling in and out of parasols as he skipped over scantily clad beach bunnies as they sun bathed... No, no... Men in speedos.

They had been the only things in abundance since Cloud's apparently _very_ close friend, Mukki, came into town.

Reno couldn't help but snicker at the memory. Oh that was a tale Tifa _had_ to share with him. His brow rose slightly as he deeply contemplated just how he planned to extract the precious information from her tight... luscious... soft... oh so kissable and delectable lips. God was he glad he had his experience as a Turk!

Before his thoughts completely ran away with him, daring to delve deeper into the familiar realm he affectionately referred to as 'the gutter', a place his mind would freely prance about while in the welcoming embrace of sleep, Tifa's tear stained face flashed briefly through his wandering thoughts.

Brown eyes swollen and pink, her nose sniffling and red, rose colored cheeks sticky and wet with tears... His wide grin faded slightly, eyes looking over nothing really particular as his thoughts refused to let go of that rare image Tifa most likely hadn't wished she'd grace him with.

As he tossed his head back, long supple fingers intertwined as they cradled the back of his neck... His lashes fanned against his skin, their tips barely grazing the red slits that sarcastically smiled upon both cheeks, as he silently made an oath to that sad little image tickling his brain.

Well perhaps oath wasn't really the kind of word he should call it. He wasn't some dashing knight in shining armor flexed, ready, and waiting to save some poor helpless damsel in distress once the first sign of danger reared its ugly head. Besides Tifa had proven to him quite a number of times that she was more than able to take care of herself, something he hoped she knew. He had the bloody nose to prove it.

Not an oath, not a promise: Just a personal note to himself that he never wanted to see that side of Tifa ever again. All efforts would be made to see only a smile grace the coral colored hued lips, eyes twinkling with laughter. _That_ was the Tifa he knew best.

_That_ was the Tifa he... loved... ... most?

The lanky man could only blink about in bewilderment. Had that thought truthfully flickered in his usually peculiar flippant thoughts? Astonishing! His hands flew to his lint filled pockets as he marched onward with shoulders hunched over and his bottom lip jutting out in a curious pout as he seriously considered the unusual flow his brain had taken.

It's not that it wasn't unpleasant to think such things per se, oh heavens no! And he most certainly and most absolutely was not going to angst over it. There was no need! So Cloud just happened to mosey on back like the nosey parker—and hopefully soon to be ex-boyfriend—that he was. It unquestionably wasn't the first time something similar happened. But this time... oh man, _this time_, he was gonna be on top. Yesiree bob!

..._In more ways than one._

He slammed a fist into his mouth as he tried to contain the mischievous cackle just fighting to be released from the chambers of his trembling lungs. Ah the hell with it!

A beach ball was dropped from sandy little fingers, a napping dog jumped up in alarm into a full grown growl, a poor old woman dropped her basketful of freshly cleaned laundry as she passed by: all stopped as if time stood still as the peculiar laughter rang so bright and true through out the alleyways and streets of Costa del Sol.

Reno, formerly of the Turks, held his head up high, ignoring the odd stare of a few here and there, as he twirled about as carefree as the next guy. Life, he felt, was going to be all right.

He didn't even mind the first few droplets of rain.

OoOoOoOoO

She sat cross-legged in the grass, her face tilted up in quiet contemplation as the moisture from the skies fell upon her face, her hands neatly placed on each knee. The gentle rain was kind enough to wash away the tears from her cheeks as she sat quietly within her meditation. It was all she could do at the moment. She had already cried her tears and the punch she delivered was much too kind to take all her frustrations along with it.

She almost made a mental note to apologize to the mischievous red head, but she knew better. He probably had every intention of making his fantasy—most likely saturated with all sorts of perverted thoughts with just a dash of kink—of her nubile flesh upon his a tender reality. And though she had protested, a weak attempt at that, she couldn't fight it. It had all been so futile really.

Her headache was long gone now, only to deceptively leave the uneasiness of confusion. She didn't like the way her emotions had been tugging at her mind. No matter how she valiantly tried to think of a way out of her dire predicament, each thought sluggishly trekking through sludge, she found that ultimately she was only preventing the inevitable.

Excuses. That's all she really had to begin with... and all she would ever have.

Moist dark lashes slightly parted, welcoming the blurry haze reality had to offer, a smile painted with the faintest hint of melancholy barely grazing the gentle curve of her lips, Tifa Lockhart had awoken from her contemplative reverie with a determination to make a choice.

With a quick flash of lightening, the light rain was more than happy to strengthen its own downpour, the tickling droplets of water transforming into fat welts of unforgiving moisture splashing against the tortured ground. Slowly and surely, she lifted a slender arm into the air, gracefully stretching one limb and then the other. As she continued on with her stretching exercise she was unaware of just how soon she was to face that "predicament," completely caught unawares.

"Tifa..."

How could one word with only two syllables, her name no less, be spoken with such trepidation? Uneasiness? She knew very well who it was that had chosen speak her name. Her lips quivered slightly as she shakily took in a deep breath only to exhale a few seconds later, as if hoping that when she opened her eyes she'd find herself sitting in her shower fully clothed. Slowly but surely she opened her wary eyes, raising them with extreme caution as they considered the only person in the world she knew who happened to be the owner of that voice before her.

If only she were so lucky; if only she had a rubber ducky.

With but a simple grace did she slowly rise to her feet before the Ex-SOLDIER. What was he thinking, she wondered briefly. Was he as lost as she was at the moment? Unsure of what direction to take lest they fall off a bridge their unruly thoughts would surely lead them? As she fully regarded the man, her posture straight and true, her bottom lip bitten, Tifa was caught off guard by the melancholy that seemed to find itself a pleasant home within twin blue eyes. Finally she allowed a shaking hand to wipe away the clinging hair away from her face as the rain continued to pour.

Everything about his posture screamed uncertainty, his usual crisp and starched looking hair style had astonishingly enough lost a battle with the merciless rain; his hair had fallen limp and slick hugging at the bare skin along his neck. Blue eyes softly glowed as they regarded the girl before him with something akin to determination and hesitation. He looked so terribly different from the Cloud she was so used to seeing, the contrast so distinct like that of black and white. He painted such a perfected picture of gloom, capturing just what it was to feel completely wretched indeed, even more so with the droplets of rain dripping along fat wet locks of hair and sliding along the slope of his cheeks and the pout of his lips. It appeared to her that he was just as lost as she, though he certainly had a good reason for it now didn't he?

"Cloud... so you're finally up hmm?" Her uncertain fingers curled behind her neck as she reluctantly looked up to him with hooded eyes. The ex-SOLDIER's eyes seemed to tremble slightly as they regarded everything about her, letting the seconds tick on by while with each moment Tifa stubbornly fought the urge to dig herself a muddy grave and fall into it never to come out unless he chose to disappear at that moment. Her rain slicked lips pursed together tightly unsure if getting started on that particular plan would go by unnoticed by his pensive stare.

At least the storm was kind enough to grace the two with another clap of thunder and flash of lightening, briefly reminding them that they were still standing in the unwelcoming weather.

"Did it mean anything?" His words were unsteady though the precariousness did little to hide the determination that was unevenly laced through out each shaky syllable.

Her mouth slightly gaped in surprised response, a corner twitching slightly unsure of what clumsy words to grace him with. This wasn't awkward. Oh no, not at all! She quickly glanced around for something to hold her attentions, looking up would only get more pitiless rain in her eyes as well as other unwelcoming visuals like say... heart broken blue eyes. "Well... I'd assume it meant you were tire—"

"Tifa, honestly..." Despite her earlier effort she couldn't help but a surprised look straight into the very orbs she had verily wished not to look and fall into, she hadn't expected him to brusquely interrupt him, "Even you got to admit that that was the worst attempt at sidestepping an issue... even for you." The tips of her eyelashes lowered themselves as if to shamefully hide underneath his unbelieving and perplexed stare and how he tilted his head, refusing to take note of how his hair clung onto the bare skin of his neck.

Her lips puckered slightly, desperately grasping onto the distracting emotion of annoyance for support, "Well you _were_, weren't you?"

Cloud could only briefly shutter his eyes as his shoulders heaved along with the motion of his suffering sigh in response, his answering words were just on the verge of shaking defeat. "Tell me what I need to know... Please..." Slowly did golden tipped lashes part only to pin Tifa Lockhart in the determined sapphire grasp.

He was asking far too much of her. How could he want to know the truth when it would hurt him so? Did he truly desire to know that she loved every second of that pouncing kiss? That she was left with a hunger that was left unsatisfied for more? She could only shake her head in defiant response. Tifa would not dare to break his heart further. "No… No I mean I can't say..."

"And why not, Teef?" She could only manage a twitch of a numbed eyebrow at the manner the query was given. It was almost as if he had determined this was the route she as going to continue on, gauging even her own manner of slouch instead of worrying for his own thoughts, far from the pained face she was expecting.

Unsure words chose to make their escape through unwilling lips, "Because... I'm afraid that if I say it... it'll hurt more than I thought it would... Th—"

Vehemently so did he shake his head, droplets of water soaring with each deliberate motion, "Give me some credit wi—"

Now that she finally had some steel in her words, Tifa could not afford a break in her admission lest she lose her rocky momentum. "_That_ there was this crazy possibility that I'd lose you, the one person who's been through it all with me, my best friend. I..." She took a step forward, her clammy hand finding some sort of refuge as it was neatly placed atop a chilled collarbone. Her eyes couldn't hide the naked emotion she regarded him with, hoping the truth would appease any possible pain that may have been cause, "I don't like the idea of possibly hurting you. You mean so much to me. You always have."

A few moments passed between the two, allowing but another admission from the thundering skies before another word was spoken. "Then if _I_ mean so much Tifa... then please... what did that kiss mean to you?" His brow furrowed slightly, the thoughts ticking in his mind already deciding just how she was going to answer.

How stubborn she was, "It was just a kiss."

"No it wasn't... You wouldn't be stalling the way you are right now." He tilted his head back, eyes fluttering as the droplets of rain eagerly kissed his exposed face, "But... I think I figured it out. Figured _us_ out."

Tifa couldn't help but tilt her head curiously, her troubled mind unsure of what to make of his peculiar words. They were certainly that much closer to some sort of revelation... Oh if only she didn't fear the worst. "...What about us?"

Slowly he lowered the tilt of his head, his eyes tinged with misunderstood compassion. "We tiptoe around each other carefully trying to avoid all those eggshells... All the time, no matter what kind of progress there might have been." His eyes finally left hers as his gaze was tossed to the ground though really all he saw was the naked truth of their intertwined past. "We never really were that completely honest with each other were we? I... I think that's the problem we've had from the very beginning, I'd even say as far back at the water tower back at... home."

All she could do at that moment was stare at her dear friend, her face contorted in such pain and anguish as the tears began to poor unwillingly. She couldn't deny the utter finality and harshness of the verdict that was pounded into her bruised heart. Barely regarding each other while innocent and free, his purpose for leaving to join SOLDIER and hers for the naïve promise made upon a wishing star, attempting to catch up within the slums of Midgar, dealing with Aeris, et cetera, et cetera... Theirs was a painfully long list of broken eggshells, layers upon layers, this new discovery proving only to be like all the other events in their lives.

Finally snapping from cold confinements of her thoughts, Tifa did the only thing she could do. She ran to him, the impact of the crushing embrace forcing him to step back as he caught her in his arms. She fought back the urge to break out into sobs, the bitter truth of their relationship proving to catch her completely off guard.

"Are you leaving then?" Her soft words barely registered in his ears as he continued to hold her, eyes unblinking, as he was lost in deep contemplation.

His chin gently rested against the crown of her head as his thumb lightly stroked the small of her back, his response barely a whisper. "Do you want me to go?"

"No…"

"Then I'll stay..."

"...Promise?"

"As your best friend... you have my word."

How long they stayed out embraced in the rain, didn't matter to them. They stood out there in the blessed rain until it finally stopped. Finally a form of stability was made of their unsteady relationship, neither wanting to let go of the other. They would be the truest of friends, nothing more and absolutely and most certainly nothing less.

XXXXXXXXX 

**There ya have it, chapter 6. winde was awesome to stand up to the challenge, and did a very beautiful job of taking over this fic, considering what I basically said was 'Hahahahahaha I screwed you over XDDD'**

**Her style's different from mine, but I likes it. Hopefully you guys do too. Leave lots of reviews for her!**

**And now it's more important than ever to be chapter specific. Mmkay? Mmkay.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A.N. :runs in:**

**:trips:**

**:gets back up:**

**Ahem.**

**I'M BACK FOLKS!**

**Please, hold your applause. I apologize for how long it took for this to update. It was a series of many blunders that no one wants to go into now. So how about we read the fic instead, hmm?**

**XXXXXXXXX**

He'd lit the cigarette, but he wasn't really enjoying it. He had other matters on his mind. "So anyway," he tapped his finger on the phone he was holding, "You wouldn't believe the shit that's been going on here."

Life had been pretty good, he thought, considering he'd kissed Tifa. But then he stopped to think about the situation he was in and realized that life was actually pretty shitty. So he called Rude. Why he called Rude of all people, he had no idea. A phone call with him was like a phone call with himself—Rude mostly communicated in a silent way.

"As if it wasn't weird enough that I ran into her out of the blue. She didn't even kick my ass or anything. And free drinks on top of it. But then that dickhead had to show up and fuck it all up for me. I was this close to having her forget _all about _him."

"That a fact?"

"Of course it is! …Whatever. But like—okay, get this—I finally got her alone right? So I made my move. But then _he _just _happens_ to appear there, and suddenly she changes her mind. And she was into it, lemme tell you. But once she realized she'd been caught 'cheating,' she turned on me man! Fucking nose still hurts…"

"Your _nose_? From what?"

"Uhh? Uhh… nothing." He really didn't need Rude knowing that he nearly had his ass handed to him by a girl… again.

Rude was silent for a while. "Did you just call me to rip on Cloud?"

"Uhh…" It did sound kind of like that.

"Because I've heard it all already."

"I know, I know. See, when I called, I was _hoping _I could tell you some juicy stories—"

"I've told you a million times, I don't want to hear about—"

"—But nothin doin, of course. And yeah, you know whose fault that is." Did that dumb blonde have to ruin _everything_?

"That doesn't tell me why you called."

Reno paused for a moment, wondering how best to put what he was going to say. "Well… I was kind of wondering what you think I should do."

"About _what_?" Rude was always far more patient with Reno than necessary, but he didn't hesitate in making it known that doing so was beyond the capabilities of most normal human beings.

"About Tifa! I mean, you think I'm giving up now? Even though I've probably fucked everything up."

"So ask her out."

"…Ask her out? Like a date? Do you think that'll work? Won't she be pissed or something? I mean last time I just tried to kiss her and she—" Wait, no, he didn't want to let on about the punch, "She uhh…. Got mad at me. So she'll probably do it again man! What if she sends Cloud with his big-ass sword after me? I mean sure he's a wuss, but I don't have a freakin sword! How is THAT supposed to be fair, huh?" Honestly, like it was all so simple.

Rude sighed on the other end. "I'm hanging up now."

"Whatever. I've got more important things to deal with than talking to you."

Even in Rude's short laugh, it was easy to hear that he was mocking him. "Sure you do."

After the nearly silent click signaled that Rude had, in fact, hung up on him, Reno remained motionless on his front steps. He removed the cigarette from his lips and flicked it to the ground in front of him, tossing the cell phone along with it for good measure.

He turned sideways so he could stretch a leg out and lean back against the railing. He closed his eyes, thinking maybe he could use a nap before heading over to the bar.

It was strange to think that after feeling like he'd been living in a daytime soap opera for the past couple of days, he still had a job to go to, just like all of the other working stiffs.

OoOoOoOoO

He nearly collided with Cloud on the way into the bar. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I work here."

"Well so do I!"

"I know. I didn't ask _you _what you were doing here."

_Oops._

Cloud stared pointedly at his face. "What happened to your—?" Reno took that opportunity to roughly brush past him and enter the room.

Stupid spiky-headed— 

"Oh God, Reno!" In an instant Tifa was at his side, hand on his arm and a concerned look in her eyes as she studied the very obvious injury on his nose. "Did… did I do that to you?" she asked looking ashamed of herself. "Does it hurt?"

Oh it hurt. A lot. That girl really packed one hell of a punch. He was tempted to guilt-trip her and maybe earn a little extra, sympathy-driven attention, but opted instead to play the tough guy. "Oh y'know… I'll be fine. No big deal."

She kept frowning, reaching her hand forward to touch his nose but seeming to think better of it. "Are you sure? It looks swollen. Come on, let me get you some ice."

Reno blinked as he was led by the hand to the bar. Well, she definitely wasn't mad at him. Either that, or she was luring him into a false sense of security. Then she'd take him into a dark corner and give him a black eye to match his bruised nose…

"Here," She sat him down on the extra barstool behind the counter and gave him a plastic bag full of ice cubes. Reno only spared a brief glance to Cloud as he came through the door. "You just sit with that a while, okay?" she said to Reno, giving him a big smile.

Why was she so happy? It had really seemed like she'd be all stressed and mopey now that Cloud had shown up. Reno leaned back against the wall, thinking he had definitely missed something. But what?

_Oh God she got laid last night didn't she._ No wonder she was in such a good mood. She and Cloud probably went off somewhere and had some wild makeup sex or something.

Fuck. Now his chances were even lower. Not to mention that whatever notions he may have had about Cloud being totally lame in bed were shot down by the grin on Tifa's face.

_Dammit._

He needed a drink…

Tifa watched the two men carefully as Cloud took a seat at the bar across from Reno. Life was certainly going to be interesting from now on. And it was more than a bit awkward to have Cloud around after everything that had happened. It made things a lot more difficult when she was trying to figure out how she felt about Reno, with Cloud always in the background.

Reno, Reno, Reno.

It really boiled down to one question. Which had been more satisfying: kissing him or punching him?

Looking at his nose, she felt bad about hitting him. And now, as she realized that the resulting conflict between her and Cloud actually had _improved _their situation, she felt even worse in acknowledging that hitting him was probably unnecessary too.

But she'd felt so bad about that kiss as well.

Well, maybe not at the time, but certainly once Cloud had seen. Although, now that things had been smoothed over…

It didn't take her long to figure out that she was in a very confusing spot. Maybe it was true what they said after all; only time would tell.

She glanced back to the two of them at the bar. Wait a minute…

Tifa marched over to the two of them. "Either one of you plan on getting up and doing your job?"

"I'm on break," they both said in unison, then looked at each other confused.

"Break? You've got to be kidding me. And you don't even know whose shift it is?" She sighed with exasperation, throwing up her hands and going back to what she'd been doing. "What do I pay you two for!"

Reno also went back to what he'd been doing—loathing Cloud. How did crazy bastards like him get so lucky? The same night Reno got a punch in the face, _he _got the woman Reno wanted!

"I hate you."

"…What?"

Like he didn't know. "So what happened with you and Tifa last night?" It was so not _any _of his business, but that didn't stop him from asking.

Cloud glared at him. "Don't talk to me about that."

Oh right, he was probably still pissed that Reno'd been kissing her. But still, where did he get off being surly after the night he must've had? "Ya don't have to get all pissy. Geez, if I were you I'd be doin' fuckin back flips."

Cloud narrowed his eyes further. What the hell was he on about? "Why would I be doing that?"

He shook his head. "Ungrateful bastard…"

Cloud blinked a few times. _What—? Ohhh_… "She told me to keep it quiet." Tifa would probably kill him if she found out that he was perpetuating the misconception, but seeing how the thought seemed to cause Reno displeasure made it worth it.

"Yeah I bet she did. Not that I wanted to hear about it."

A few seconds passed. "And not like I'd talk to _you_ about it anyway."

Reno stared at him suddenly, gears working. "No… You wouldn't."

Just like that he had seen through Cloud's plan. What was that, like, two seconds?

Reno was officially giddy. So he still had a shot, and a pretty big one by the looks of it—Cloud had somehow managed to, once again, fuck up. "So uhh…" He leaned forward slyly with every intention of making Cloud as pissed off as possible. "So am I to understand that she's available?"

"Not to you."

"Aww, don't get all 'protective male friend' on me now. That'll get old _real _fast."

Cloud leaned forward as well, in a far more menacing fashion. "You stay away from her, got it? I don't know why she lets you hang around but I can't do anything about that. But if you try anything—"

"Stay _away_ from her?" he asked with growing incredulity. "Where do you get off speaking for her?" He stopped to laugh in hopes of lightening the situation—he wanted to push Cloud's buttons, but he wasn't looking to have another near-fight on his hands. "She can take care of her_self_, ya know. She is a, um…" His eyes drifted to her across the room, lingering on the parts he was most interested in, "_Full grown woman_, after all."

Cloud caught his subtly perverted meaning and looked like he was going to tear Reno's throat out.

Reno rolled his eyes and leaned back against the wall. "Geez Strife, you really oughta do something about that stick up your ass."

His charming comment was ignored, but it was just as well. Reno went back to ogling Tifa from across the room, pretending he didn't notice the way that Cloud was trying to kill him with his eyes. After a few moments he turned right to the glare that was threatening his life with a cheesy grin, acting conversational.

"So tell me what happened with you two."

Cloud looked at him with disbelief. "No."

"Come on! I have a right to know!"

"How do _you _have a 'right to know'?"

"Because I got a fucking punch in the face for kissing her since you two were supposedly together, and now, two days later, you're not?"

Cloud shifted in his seat, looking at the floor. He didn't really feel compelled to divulge to Reno that he had decided just to be friends with Tifa—Reno would no doubt call him an idiot, and he'd be damned if he needed any more of that crap. "It's complicated."

"It's _complicated_? If I wanted a cryptic vague answer like _that _I would have just asked _her_! Here I was thinking I could get the straight story from you cause you're a guy, but I guess I really should have known better, huh?" Reno watched Cloud's eyes narrow. Threatening his masculinity worked like a charm. Elena got him with that all the damn time—now he finally was able to try on someone else.

"Is it _really _that important to you?"

"Yeah, actually," he argued. _She is_.

Cloud sighed, resigned. "We're… we're just friends now. I don't know if that's all we ever were, but it's all we are now."

Reno's response after a brief silence surprised both of them. "She didn't need a friend, you know."

He hung his head even further. "Yeah… I know," Suddenly his head shot up with sudden vehemence. "But that doesn't mean you should go after her or anything."

Reno shook his head. "Yeah, while you're doing something about that stick in your ass, you might want to do something about those mood swings."

The tension was thick when it was broken by the sound of the phone ringing next to them. They both looked at each other expectantly. Reno drummed his fingers on the counter. "Ya gonna get that?"

"Not my shift."

"What? Yeah it is." Wasn't it?

"…Is it?"

"Yes!" Yeah it definitely was, now that he thought about it.

"…Well then what are you doing here?"

As if it wasn't obvious enough—besides the confusion about who worked what hours, anyway. "Are you gonna get it or not?"

Cloud eyed the phone awkwardly. "No…"

He shook his head with a quick roll of the eyes, lunging for the phone. "You're such a lame-ass," He picked it up, making a big deal over being more responsible than Cloud was. "Yo, Tifa's… uhh…" Ah dammit, that was right, the place had no damn name, "Tifa's bar, what can I do for ya?"

"The hell? Cloud you spiky-ass! Is that you?

"What? No!"

"…Who's this?"

"…Who's _this_?" Why did that voice sound so familiar…?

"All right, whoever the fuck you are, can you put Tifa on?" Oh SHIT.

"Umm… who? There's no one by that name here." Sure, lying always made everything better.

"Don't fuck with me man, you just _said_—"

"Oh, uhh. No. See, yeah. Umm. That's not what I said. I said…" What sounded like Tifa? "Reefer. Yeah. This is a reefer bar, if you get my drift. Dunno if that's your kinda thing, but…"

He could just _hear _the seething on the other end.

"So unless you're interested in that, I'd get a phone book and try to find the person you're actually looking for. But don't forget about us in the future!" He swiftly hung up the phone.

Cloud gave him a look that plainly demanded an explanation.

He casually returned to his spot against the wall with a shrug. "Wrong number."

OoOoOoOoO

It was a long day of not-actually-working, but the bar was at last nearing its close. Reno was grateful for the fact that some of Tifa's attention could finally be directed at him. Why drunkards were more important than he was, he'd never understand. He made an effort to return to his usual bar stool so he could talk to her face-to-face, even if it meant sitting next to Cloud.

He tried not to be too bitter when, upon her return to the two men seated at the end of the bar, she started chatting with the man next to him first.

Of course, he managed a grin when she actually did turn to him. "So Reno," she began, "When are you gonna pay your tab?"

"My what?"

"Your _tab_."

"…My what?"

"Reno," she began sternly, looking him dead in the eye, "You didn't really think all those drinks were _free_, did you?"

"Uhh…"

She laughed. "Well I let you slide for a little while, but it's not like I could let it go on forever. But it's fine. You've got money, right?"

"Well _yeah _but I thought you gave me free drinks to be _nice_, not cause you thought I was poor."

"I did!" she insisted. "But it starts to add up eventually. You're not exactly a light drinker, you know. I have a business to run!"

He blinked a few times, not really sure what he was supposed to say.

"If you don't have the money I can take it out of your paycheck, but you'll be working for free for quite a while," she said. She continued with another laugh. "You're not trying to take advantage of me, are you?"

There was unmistakable flirtation in her voice. Well, maybe not unmistakable—he'd been utterly, embarrassingly wrong about that kind of thing _way _too many times to be sure anymore.

"Of course not," he said casually. "But considering payment, I'm sure I can make it up to you in… _other_ ways." It had been too long since he could use that smirk on her. He resisted smacking Cloud for the threatening look he was giving him.

She leaned forward, resting her elbows on the counter, smirk much like his own. "Oh really?" she said, challenge evident. "Like what?"

He couldn't really be sure if she was really into what he was saying or she was just humoring him, but dammit, it was better than nothing. He imitated her position, if only for the sake of being closer to her. "Well, I was thinking—"

But he was cut off by Cloud's hand grabbing the back of his collar and pulling him backwards, nearly off the stool. "I don't think anyone wants to know what you're thinking," he said looking annoyed as well as uncomfortable with what was going on in front of him.

Reno rubbed the back of his neck, offended, and stared at Cloud disbelievingly. Did he have NO idea what it was like to be trying to flirt with a sexy woman? "What're you gay or something?"

Out of nowhere, a mustachioed man burst forth from under the bar. "Bubby!" he exclaimed, looking at Cloud. "Did I hear him correctly?" He seemed unable to contain his excitement.

Reno glanced back and forth between the man and where he'd appeared from under Cloud's stool. "Dude, what was he doing down there! Was he—?"

"No!" Cloud said quickly. "I don't know _what _he was doing! And I don't know how he got there!"

"Sure, sure…"

"Now don't get jealous!" Mukki said to Reno. "But Bubby and I go _way _back, so I'm afraid he's all mine!"

Reno grinned. "That's okay. You can have him. In fact, why don't you take Bubby here somewhere nice? He's been feeling a little lonely today."

"Aww…" Mukki took great pity on Cloud. "I'll just have to cheer him up! He'll never feel alone again once _I'm_ through with him!"

Cloud's eyes widened as he found himself being lifted off his barstool. "No… _no_!" He took his last moments to curse Reno before being dragged from the bar.

Tifa shook her head, fighting laughter as Cloud disappeared from view. "That wasn't nice," she admonished, biting back a giggle.

Reno waved his hand dismissively. "He was a wet blanket and you know it."

She had to admit that the atmosphere seemed a lot lighter without Cloud around. She shuffled her feet. "_Maybe_…" she said with reluctance.

As she smiled shyly at him, gradually playing along with his abuse of Cloud, he became painfully aware that this was the first time he had been alone with her since the little 'incident' at the lighthouse. He swallowed hard, despite himself. God help him, he was actually nervous.

"So how about a drink?" he said with a perfectly straight face. "Been workin hard after all." He added the last part with a grin.

She raised a disbelieving eyebrow at him, not sure which part of his sentence she should jump on first. "I wasn't kidding about the tab thing, you know. You're gonna give me the money or I'm gonna take it out of your paycheck. Either way, you're gonna pay me."

He feigned a pout, still wanting a strong drink. "Are those my only options?"

Her look only grew more skeptical.

"Because I was thinking, y'know, I could pay you back with dinner or something."

She laughed. "I don't think you've seen your bill. That would have to be one hell of a dinner."

"Well what about more than dinner?" He continued when he saw a stern talking-to coming on. "No, no, I don't mean _that_. Really. Unless you're intere—? –Okay, you're not, sorry," Her look was enough proof of that. "But I meant like we could go somewhere."

"Go somewhere?" He couldn't honestly expect her to believe that he was offering something like a vacation and he didn't have anything in mind.

"Yeah," He said, getting up and approaching her where she had turned to place glasses on the shelves. "Like the Gold Saucer or something. I'll pay for everything. Even the drinks."

She laughed against her better judgment. "Even the drinks, huh?" she said over her shoulder, finding him to be very close to her.If he meant something like the Gold Saucer then that was a different story, and he really seemed to be going out of his way to find some other way to pay off his tab. It wouldn't be nearly enough to cover his expenses, but she decided to cut him a break. The term 'date' briefly flashed through her mind, only to be quickly erased by the knowledge that she was only agreeing to this in order to be nice so he could pay off his massive drink bill. "That sounds like fun. I haven't been there in a really long time. Hope you don't mind if we hit everything in the park," she said with a playful smile.

Reno blinked. He definitely hadn't expected her to take him up on that. All things considered, it really was a stupid offer. He grinned, remembering to keep it cool. "Nope, I don't mind at all."

"Oh, but I don't think I can this weekend. Barret wanted me to baby-sit Marlene," She paused to frown. "I'm not sure what happened with that actually. He said he was going to call when he ironed out the details."

Reno felt a sudden pang of guilt. "Uh, about that…"

"Huh?"

"I think he called here before."

"You answered it? I thought I heard the phone ring before. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well I… kinda lied and told him he had the wrong number. I didn't want him to know I was here." Maybe it wasn't the most thought-out of decisions but goddammit, he panicked. The last thing he needed was another one of Tifa's overprotective friends foiling his plans of trying to get close to her.

Tifa watched him for a moment. It wasn't anywhere near an adequate explanation, but she could completely understand where he was coming from. She supposed Cloud was bad enough with making Reno feel unwelcome. Sure, he was an ex-Turk and ex-enemy, but he was still a human being and needed to be given a chance. Somehow, she didn't picture Barret seeing it that way, and there had been more than enough drama going on as it was. "Hmm," She nodded slightly. "I'll call him tomorrow. What if we went during this week or something?"

He suddenly thought of the condition of his face. "Well, uhh…" He waited until he had her attention. "D'ya think we can wait until this clears up?" He pointed to his nose. "This isn't the look I generally like to have when I'm out in throngs of people with a beautiful woman." He put on his most charming grin just briefly enough to show that the grin was for her.

His compliment slipped past her and her eyebrows immediately knit together in concern and slight guilt. "Of course," she said sympathetically. "And I'm really sorry about that," She stopped putting shot glasses away and turned to face him. "It won't happen again."

They stared for a moment and he could only wonder at the true meaning of her words. He laughed it off instead. "Hey, don't worry about it," He put a hand on her arm before sliding it down to take her hand. "C'mon. Let me walk you home."

XXXXXXXXX 

**A.N.: Sorry if this seemed a little uneventful. That actually wasn't originally where this chapter was supposed to end, but I figured out a better way to work it into the next chapter (that's write, I'm writing the next one too XD)**

**But first I need to get some VinTi out of my system. Yes, for anyone who was wondering, 'Wild Ride' WILL be continued—so be on the look out for that!**

**Now I believe that little review button needs some loving. It's too close to 100 for you to deny me now!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A.N.: Yes, yes, it's been a while. If you knew my VinTi fans you'd know why XD Well, I think some of you do know them. Some of you ARE them. So yeah—you're running me ragged!**

**Speaking of which, you get no chapter before I get 40 reviews. XD Suffer.**

**But yes, here it is, chapter 8 of You May Be Right. This was one of those chapters that was supposed to be a part of the chapter before it. I dunno what the hell I was thinking at the time XD This chapter almost became two chapters as well. But it didn't, and as a result some stuff ended up on the cutting room floor, but it's all good. I think I may do a deleted scenes type thing, cause Steph and I came up with something pretty funny that just didn't fit with the overall direction of this chapter.**

**But that's the way it goes. And now I shut up.**

XXXXXXXXX 

Discarding her top on the bed and straightening her skirt for what seemed like the hundredth time, Tifa wondered if maybe she should have just gone shopping for something new entirely. She thought it unusual that she was putting so much thought into what she was going to wear at all. It wasn't… it wasn't like it was a _date_ or anything. And yet she knew that every time she looked at a new garment, she was wondering what he would think of it. Convincing herself that she was most certainly not dressing for him was a futile battle indeed. She'd even gone so far as to put consideration in the undergarments she wore.

_That_ wouldn't matter of course, because he was _not _going to be seeing them anyway. But that little voice in the back of her head, the one that told her to go for the lacy black ones, assured her that if the two of them _were _in a situation that allowed him to see her like that, her underwear probably wouldn't last very long.

She blushed and chastised herself for entertaining such a notion, attacking her closet again, knowing there just _had _to be a decent outfit in there _somewhere_. She pulled out a clingy red top and threw it on, stepping back to scrutinize herself in the mirror.

She pursed her lips. It did seem a little… _sexy_. _He _would be sure to approve, of course, but when she thought of the other person who would be accompanying them on their little outing, she had to worry about the example she was setting.

"Tifa?" Marlene's voice carried through the door. "I think there's someone here."

She smoothed out her shirt and gave herself a final once over. This outfit would have to do. "Okay, I'll be right there."

OoOoOoOoO

He still felt like his nose was possibly a little misshapen—which sucked, in his opinion. He didn't want to be on a date with a crooked nose. Well… he had to remind himself that he couldn't assume this was a date. To her, it was merely repayment. Though he knew she was aware that an outing at Gold Saucer wouldn't even come close to covering what he owed her, so the fact that she agreed to it said _something_. He wasn't entirely sure what it said, but he'd take anything at the moment.

But the fact of the matter was that he was going to be all alone with Tifa no matter what the subtext was, and he wished his nose looked like it lined up in the center of his face. He prodded it thoughtfully. Maybe he was just being paranoid. He abruptly stopped when the door in front of him swung open. On instinct, he put on what he considered to be his most suave smile, but it quickly faded into a confused frown as his eyes fell on the little girl before him.

Oh, this did not bode well. It did not bode well at all.

Tifa's appearance behind Marlene lessened his dread slightly, but not by much. Why did he have the terrible feeling that his plans were going to be ruined?

Tifa bit her lip. "Umm, Reno? There's kind of a little conflict."

Oh. That was why. "What kind of conflict?" he asked, not even trying to mask the edge in his voice.

"Well, I thought Barret needed me to baby-sit last weekend, but… apparently it was this one." She glanced back to the girl who had disappeared into the house, and he awaited the inevitable bad news.

She looked a little discouraged by his lack of a response, but she continued, stepping back so she could let him in and close the door. "And…um, well… I couldn't say no, and I didn't want to cancel our plans, and I figured it wouldn't matter because I'd still consider it repayment…" She trailed off, shuffling her feet.

He knew there was no way he was getting out of this, but it looked like she was waiting for his approval. "Yeah, of course she can come," he said once again donning the extra-special grin he always saved just for her. Sure, he was more than a bit frustrated that some punk kid would be intruding upon what he hoped would be a very, _very _romantic evening, but if it was what Tifa wanted…

"Thanks so much," she said, sounding genuinely grateful. "It would mean a lot to Marlene too. I think she likes you," she said with a sly smile as the girl rushed over to join them.

"Hi!" the girl greeted him brightly. "Remember me?"

How could he forget? It was thanks to her that he met up with Tifa in the first place. "Of course," he said, smiling through his awkwardness. He'd never really considered himself all that great with kids, and yet they had some sort of unnatural attachment to him. But he knew he shouldn't let past experiences deter him. She _seemed_ normal enough.

Tifa gazed at Reno with affection. She knew children, especially ones as inquisitive as Marlene, could be a handful—and he didn't exactly strike her as the type to be very tolerant of them. But he was trying. God bless him, he was trying, and that was all she could ask for. She put a hand on Marlene's shoulder and smiled down at her. "Whatcha got there?"

She beamed at Reno, extending the piece of paper in her hand. "I drew something for you!"

Tifa peered at it curiously. So that was what she had been carrying around all morning.

Reno took the picture from her, unable to ignore his curiosity. When the hell had she drawn this? He hadn't seen the girl in months—why would she think to draw _him_ something? Hmm. Maybe he left a lasting impression.

He took in the bright colors and the scrawled shapes. He squinted, held it away from him, brought it closer to his face, trying to get a better look, but it was no use. He simply had no idea what was on the paper in front of him. He didn't completely blame it on her drawing skill—sometimes he had a distinct lack of imagination. Well… except when Tifa was involved.

He looked down at the girl with the hopeful look in her eyes. He couldn't figure out what to do. He didn't have the heart to ask her what it was. His gaze traveled to Tifa, thinking maybe if he waited long enough, someone would tell him what Marlene had drawn.

Tifa smiled as she caught the helpless look in his eyes. She bent down to Marlene. "What's it a picture of?" she asked pleasantly. She too was rather perplexed, having caught a brief glimpse of it as Reno studied it. But whereas it may have hurt Marlene's feelings for him to not understand her gift, Tifa knew that she and the little girl had been through enough that she'd be forgiven for not knowing what it was.

Marlene pointed to Reno. "It's you and a chocobo!" she explained proudly, and Tifa breathed a silent sigh of relief. The little girl was apparently too enthusiastic about talking about her work to be offended by the fact that no one was able to comprehend it. She sighed at Reno. "You're holdin' it upside down!" she said with exasperation.

"Uhh?" He blinked down at her. He was what…? He gave the paper a quick 180-degree turn and saw the image in a new light. He still didn't think he'd have exclaimed 'hey, it's me and a huge yellow bird!' but he could definitely see _some_ kind of resemblance. The scribbles were starting to make a little sense. The giant yellow blob with the caption that said 'WARK!' was obviously the chocobo. The thing on the right could only be him, though the only feature that gave it away was the exaggerated red hair, sticking out in all directions and mirroring the bird on the other side. Was that really what his hair looked like? He reached a hand up and smoothed out his hair self-consciously. Geez, he thought Cloud was supposed to be the chocobo-head. He smiled, folding up the paper and putting it in his pocket. "I'm gonna hang it up when I get home."

Marlene couldn't have looked more pleased with herself, and Tifa couldn't have been more pleased with Reno. He probably didn't know it, but he just made that little girl's day. That alone was worth at least half the drinks on his tab. She took Marlene's hand and smiled at him. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah let's go!" Marlene added before he could answer.

He laughed and nodded. "Let's go."

OoOoOoOoO

Reno took the tram ride as an opportunity to shamelessly check Tifa out. Not that he didn't do that all the time, but he'd been too distracted by talking to Marlene to take part in one of his favorite pastimes. His eyes swept over her form, just as enthralled with her clothing as the body underneath it. He briefly wondered what made her pick that outfit. She sure as hell didn't dress like that when she worked at the bar—he _wished_ she did though. At any rate, she looked _damn_ good. That color really suited her. …The low neckline helped too.

The tram slowed to an abrupt halt and the doors slid open. Marlene darted through them in her excitement. "Yay! We're here!"

"Marlene!" Tifa called, rushing after her. "Not so fast. Stay with me," she said sounding half annoyed and half amused.

"Sorry," she muttered, embarrassment written on her face.

Tifa smiled and took her hand as they walked into the park. "That's okay sweetie. I like it here too."

Reno trailed behind them, slightly fascinated at the way Tifa took to Marlene like she was her own daughter. Though he supposed Tifa was around a lot more than Barret was, so maybe it wasn't so surprising after all.

Marlene looked absolutely beside herself with glee as she looked around at all the bright, festive colors and glittering lights. "What are we gonna do first?" she asked Tifa, tugging on her hand in mild impatience at the fact that they had stopped.

"Umm…" Tifa looked at Reno and he shrugged. "Well, what do you want to do first?"

Marlene's eyes suddenly lit up, and Tifa knew she had her answer. "I wanna go on the roller coaster!" she exclaimed, not bothering to hesitate in dragging Tifa to the Speed Square.

Tifa smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. The last few times she herself had been to the Gold Saucer hadn't exactly been like vacation. Being able to relax and take pleasure in what she was doing without worrying about Sephiroth or ShinRa was enjoyable indeed. It felt for her as it did for Marlene, experiencing the Gold Saucer for the first time. But as soon as the group arrived at the queue for the ride, things seemed to get a little complicated. Tifa frowned at the happy plastic moogle, holding out his arm with the phrase 'You must be this tall to ride!' in his little cartoon speech bubble. Marlene, very young and quite small for her age, quite plainly fell far below the height requirement. There would be no way to break it to her without crushing her spirits.

Tifa decided the sooner she gave Marlene the bad news, the better—her anticipation would only build the closer they got. "Sweetie?" she said, slowing to a stop and bending down to the little girl's level. "The park says you're not big enough to ride this ride yet." The despair in her eyes broke Tifa's heart.

"I can't go on?" she asked quietly.

"I'm sorry," she said, soothingly sweeping the hair away from her face. But she still felt awful when she looked at Marlene. It wasn't in Marlene's nature to cry over frivolous things, but her devastation was written all over her face. Tifa couldn't stand to see her like that. Not knowing what to do, she rounded on Reno with desperation in her eyes.

"Uhh," Reno hesitated. He wanted to help, for Tifa's sake especially, but he wasn't quite sure how. He wracked his brain for some kind of solution and it suddenly hit him. "Uhh, hey," he said, bending down next to Tifa so he could talk to Marlene in the same manner. "You like chocobos, don't you?"

Something about even his presence cheered her up. "Duh!" she said with a light giggle.

He couldn't help but smile. "Then I know something you'll _really _like," he said vaguely, turning on his heel and sauntering away.

Whether or not Marlene understood what he was talking about, she seemed rather excited. "Let's go!" she said, grabbing Tifa's hand so they could follow him.

As they passed Reno, Tifa reached out with her free hand and took hold of his, squeezing it briefly. "Thank you," she whispered into his ear, and in the same instant he was wishing she'd stay close to him like that forever, she was gone, dragged away by a child who didn't even really know where she was going.

OoOoOoOoO

Marlene enjoyed the chocobo races just as much as he'd expected. She probably would have enjoyed it even more if she could have ridden on the chocobos, but she was unfortunately too small to do that either. But this time, they'd been careful to find out if it was even a possibility before they put the idea in her head.

But as she clutched the red stuffed chocobo that Reno had won her from betting on a race, she seemed content enough with things as they were. And for the most part, he was too. He was naturally frustrated that there would be an oh-so-burdensome third wheel on his outing with Tifa, but the kid wasn't so bad. Sure, maybe the trip hadn't been exactly what he had in mind, but there would be other times. He would see to that.

The two females had left Reno to take a visit to the ladies room. On their way back to him, Tifa's phone rang, causing them both to jump slightly. "Hello? …Now? Okay… Okay… Where? All right. Bye," She hung up and took a brief pause before looking at Marlene. "That was your dad. He's going to come pick you up."

Marlene's face fell. "Now? Already?"

She nodded sadly. "We're going to meet him at the entrance, but we'll get Reno first."

"Okay," She paused a bit, watching her tiny sneakered feet as they moved across the pavement. "Tifa?" She waited patiently until she had he companion's attention. "What about Cloud?"

Tifa nearly froze in her tracks, incredibly surprised and taken aback by the question. "What do you mean sweetie?"

Marlene's face screwed up like she wasn't really sure herself. She knew the situation was probably beyond her understanding, but she was making a valiant effort to figure out what was going on. "How come… Reno's here and not Cloud?"

Tifa wondered if the girl knew of the volumes that her inquiry spoke. "Cloud and I… we decided we're just going to be friends from now on," She was a little embarrassed that Marlene had picked up on the fact that she was out with a man other than the one she was supposed to be dating.

"And you an' Reno are friends right?"

"Right."

"So then…" She knit her eyebrows together still trying to reason it out. If Tifa was friends with Reno _and _Cloud, and she was out with Reno and _not_ Cloud, then… "Are you and Reno more than friends?"

This time Tifa really did halt. Something in the back of her mind told her that Marlene probably didn't even know what she meant by 'more than friends,' but what caused Tifa to start was the fact that she didn't have an answer for her. And while she hated to do it, she could do nothing but casually brush Marlene's question off as they approached Reno where he waited on a bench. "Come on. Your dad's waiting."

No one said much as the three walked back towards the entrance. Marlene was too disappointed to talk, and Reno too nervous—that left Tifa with no one to converse with.

Reno didn't know why Tifa felt compelled to bring him along to meet up with Barret. That was _not _high on his list of priorities, especially after the little incident on the phone. He liked to think that he could take on damn near anyone if a fight were to occur, but having a gun arm and being ridiculously huge gave Barret an unfair advantage. But he was helpless as he approached the gate and a large and undesirably familiar figure came into view.

Tifa winced when she saw the look on Barret's face, completely dumbstruck that it could have slipped her mind that there might be some hostility between the two men. Barret had perfected controlling his temper, thanks to her help and insistance, and she didn't think Reno, even with his ego, would risk provoking a punch from the man before him. But she knew that no matter how badly she wanted it, neither one of them could pretend they didn't remember what things had been like when they'd been so neatly placed on opposite sides of a persisting struggle.

Barret's jaw tensed when he saw the other man. "What the hell do you think you're—?"

The question was knocked from his lungs as Marlene launched herself into his arms. "Daddy! I had so much fun today!" She caught her breath when he set her down again, and she held out her stuffed toy. "Look what Reno won for me!"

He continued to observe the situation with unbridled skepticism. He turned to Tifa with subtle anger flashing in his gaze. "I thought you were lookin' after Marlene. Why is he here?"

Tifa straightened her back and looked him square in the eye. She'd have to be firm with him if he was ever going to accept that Reno had a role in her life, whatever that role may have been. "He came along with us. Marlene had a wonderful time," She hesitated and lowered her eyes to the ground. "I did too. He's not hurting anybody, Barret."

Reno watched Barret give him an appraising stare. Normally he'd have stood up for himself in less than a heartbeat, but something told him the conflict was only partially about him. Instead, he held his ground and kept his mouth shut. He didn't really want to start a fight with the guy when his own daughter was right there.

After an intensely thick silence, Barret looked resigned. There was obviously more to it than he had time to understand, probably more than Tifa had the capacity to even explain. He'd have to worry about it some other day. "All right. Just don't let him answer your phone anymore," he threatened, turning to leave.

Marlene took the opportunity to attack Tifa with a hug, then Reno. "Bye Reno! Thanks for the chocobo," She pulled away and grinned cheekily. "Guess what I named him!"

He played along. "What's that?"

"Reno!" she said as if it were the cleverest thing in the world, before turning on her heel and trailing after her father.

Tifa turned to Reno, not sure if she should smile over Marlene or frown over Barret. "It's… been a long day." Sure, that seemed to cover all the bases.

"Sure has," he agreed, staring off into the setting sun. "Of course, it's not over yet," he said slyly, placing an arm around her waist and steering her back towards the park.

"It's not?" she asked with confusion and budding interest.

"Not by a long shot. C'mon, lemme buy ya a drink," he said with a smirk, letting the irony of his statement sink in.

She was pleased to see Reno's talkativeness returning to him. He'd been unusually quiet so far. She could only assume it was because he didn't know how to act around children, especially ones he didn't really know. She stifled a giggle—if only he knew he could do no wrong by that girl.

She fell into step beside him, enjoying the feel of him next to her. She hated to admit it, but she could get used to this. Though, truth be told, she really didn't want a drink all that much, but it was nice to be on the other side of the counter for once.

He tapped his fingers impatiently on the wooden surface. "Where the hell's the bartender?"

Tifa looked around with a frown. The place was absolutely mobbed—it was a miracle they'd made it so close to the bar in the first place. Placing a drink order would be another near-impossible hurdle. "Hey," she said, placing a hand on his arm, "Let's forget about the drinks."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," she said with a playful grin, "You can find another way to spend money on me."

"Yeah?" he said, obviously up for the challenge. "Like what?"

She shifted in her seat with a thoughtful look in her eyes. "I don't know. Let's do something fun," she proposed.

"Fun?" he asked suggestively as she took his hand to lead him away from the bar.

"Oh yeah," she said with mischief, "You're in the ride of your life."

OoOoOoOoO

Standing in front of huge metal tracks and wooden supports, Reno was disappointed into a frown. "You know," he told Tifa with mock annoyance, "This isn't what I had in mind."

"I know," she giggled, giving his hand a tug as she set off towards the roller coaster, but stopped when she found that he didn't budge. "Reno," she said, a bit of seriousness slipping into her tone. "You _know _I didn't mean anything inappropriate."

"I know," he said, still sounding a bit strained and remaining firmly rooted to the spot.

"You're not _scared _are you?"

"No," he said off-handedly, "Why would I be?" And still he moved barely an inch.

Tifa was admittedly surprised. Well, if he really _was_ scared, she'd spare him the humiliation of having it made known as fact. She opted to keep it playful. "Aww, do you need me to hold your hand?" she asked with a cheesy grin that she could have sworn she learned from him.

"Tell you what," he said, turning to her with a startlingly blank face, "If you drop the whole thing, I'll take you to go do something even better."

She studied his face and for a moment she was afraid she'd hurt or offended him by touching on what seemed to be a minor phobia of thrill rides. She nodded, feeling humbled.

"Although," he said, lacing his fingers with hers, a playfulness entering his voice, "I still need you to hold my hand." He feigned a pout that was so pathetic and yet so corny she could only stare. His frown melted into a laugh when he caught the look of incredulity on her face.

She had no choice but to join him in his laughter, thoroughly relieved that she hadn't struck a nerve with him. Though she couldn't help but wonder when she'd become so concerned about treading on thin ice with Reno.

He beamed with pride as they stood in line for the Gondola ride, as if coming there had been the most brilliant idea in the world. He was pleased when it caused Tifa to break out in tiny fits of giggles. At least he was doing something right—he couldn't help but feel a bit awkward with her hand in his. He didn't think he'd held hands with anyone he actually, really liked in _years_ at the least.

They watched with vague curiosity as a boy was dragged out of the gondola by his mother, as she yelled at him for some misdeed. The operator shook his head in exasperation, casting his eyes skyward. "Next."

Reno had already taken his seat before he realized why the boy was in trouble. The bench opposite him was completely covered in bright pink bubble gum. He surmised that the kid must've gone through at least a whole pack to accomplish that kind of destruction. He must have been determined. Though how the boy's mother had gone so long without noticing was a mystery entirely beyond him. Tifa looked at the sticky seat in distaste. His first instinct was to stand up and offer the seat that he had, but he'd have to be able to _stand_ in this damn thing to do that.

"Gross…" Tifa muttered. She turned to him with wondering eyes. "What should I—?"

But she was interrupted mid-sentence, letting out a startled squeak as he seized her about the waist and pulled her into his lap. She stayed perfectly still, not sure how she was supposed to react. It only took her a moment to realize how warm and comfortable Reno felt, and she relaxed against him, heaving a contented sigh. She stared dazedly out the window, heady in the recognition of the stark contrast between her current situation and the time she'd been there with Cloud. But if she had to be honest about it, this time around had certainly been a lot more fun.

Reno shifted in his seat. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but his thoughts were quickly running away with him when he thought about Tifa in his lap. The thick silence didn't help to lessen the tension. He cleared his throat in a last-ditch effort to make conversation. "So uhh… do you think it's weird that it's called the Round Square?"

"Hmm?"

"Oh uh… nothing, never mind."

She looked apologetic. "I'm sorry. I was looking at the park. It's so pretty at night."

Right, that's what this ride was for. "Hey look," he said comically, pointing to a red chocobo on the racetrack. "It's me."

She giggled. "You're losing."

"It'll be a last minute win. Just you watch."

"I'll take your word for it," she said teasingly, as they rounded the golden statue of the park's owner. "Ugh, can you believe that Dio put up that giant ugly thing of himself?"

"…You can't?" he asked with mock disbelief, and he prided himself in the laughter he once again earned from her. He always felt like he was accomplishing something when he made her laugh—he loved the sound of it. For someone who smiled so much, she didn't laugh nearly enough.

After a few beats, the hilarity subsided, and Tifa once again settled against him with a soft sigh, finally noticing the way his hands gripped her hips. "Reno?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for taking me here. I had a really great time."

Reno tried to play it off. "Well, this place _is _supposed to be buckets of fun."

"Yeah, but…" She looked him in the eye. "I wouldn't have had as much fun if you weren't here." She hadn't really meant to reveal her thoughts in quite that manner, but it was out and there was no taking it back.

Reno noted the way she squirmed and he found he didn't have much of a response. "Me too." It wasn't the most eloquent of replies, but it was something. Then again, he wasn't that concerned. He was focusing all his brainpower on trying to come up with reasons why he shouldn't kiss her. But whatever reasons made up that short list were instantly made meaningless as he felt her body move almost imperceptibly closer to his. Listening to that little voice in his head that steered him wrong more often than right, he decided to go for it. His lips met hers, hesitantly at first, then more surely as he resolved that he'd come to far not to be bold now.

He didn't really have much to lose—though of course, there was the risk of an ass-kicking. But he experienced a strange thrill at the idea that he wasn't supposed to be doing this. She felt just as good as he remembered, if not better. There was a strange sense of security knowing that he wasn't doing to be interrupted by that spiky-haired idiot. Oh no. Not this time.

Tifa hadn't really been caught off-guard by the fact that Reno kissed her. Any surprise she may have been feeling was strictly pleasant in nature, particularly her shock at how rapidly the kiss was escalating. She wanted to be mad at him for having his hand on her leg, but that would only be rational if she found it to be something worth complaining about. What had started as a seemingly innocent peck had progressed into the kind of kisses she thought she could only _truly_ find in her dreams. She was just starting to _really _get into it when the car stopped short and the doors swung open. She could have died from embarrassment, being caught _making out_ by all those strangers. She hastily leapt out of Reno's lap, grabbing his hand so he'd follow her outside. "…Seat's got gum on it…" she muttered to the attendant, scurrying off towards the wrought iron gates so blatantly labeled 'GOLD SAUCER.'

OoOoOoOoO

She felt both comforted and excited when they arrived back in Costa. There was the feeling of home, of the familiar, but also the delight of seeing an old situation in a new light. She could try as hard as she wanted to deny it, but things were going to be different from now on. It had been easy enough to pass off her relationship with Reno as a fleeting fancy, but there was no ignoring that fluttering feeling in her stomach that lingered even as he walked her to her house. Cloud was essentially out of the picture, and Reno had sidled his way in. It was new and even unusual, but that was what made it so exhilarating.

Her heart beat wildly as he went in for another kiss at her doorstep. She eagerly pressed herself against him—she confirmed that she could _definitely_ get used to this. When they pulled away, she felt excruciatingly uncomfortable all of a sudden. Something in the back of her mind told her to invite him in for coffee, but something else even further back reminded her that that would end up being something more than 'coffee.' She was treading lightly, not about to take her chances. "Thanks again," she said with a small, shy smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" she said, slipping him a piece of paper with her phone number on it.

"You bet," he said grinning, with a turn on his heel towards his place. It was the first time in his life he could remember not being disappointed that he wasn't invited in for 'coffee.' Well… no, he was still disappointed—that part couldn't be helped, of course—it just wasn't a deal-breaker. Maybe stepping into his house alone wasn't exactly ideal, but for the time being, it was okay. For a date that wasn't actually a date, the evening had gone amazingly well. The make-out session in the gondola certainly seemed promising. He pulled the paper out of his left pocket, Marlene's drawing, and hung it on the refrigerator with a strange smile. Sure, the kid interrupted a large portion of his alone time with Tifa, but she really wasn't so bad. Besides, he had told himself there would be other times, and he was going to see to that. So he reached into his other pocket and examined the phone number Tifa gave him. Deciding to do it before he changed his mind, he picked up his phone and wasting no time in dialing.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Teef. How'd you like to go on a date next week?"

XXXXXXXXX 

**A.N.: There you have it.**

**And I am SO very pleased to announce that Randi Lynne will be taking part in this fic next. I'm very excited and infinitely grateful. Looking forward to that.**

**Now leave those reviews. Do it. Seriously.**

…**Please?**


	9. Chapter 9

Gahhhhhh, there's no excuse! No excuse for having taken this long to update! I blame myself one hundred percent. **Sixth Night (formerly Randi Lynne)** has been absolutely fabulous with writing this chapter and I give her all the credit and praise in the world. It truly is a wonderful chapter, as she is a fabulous author, so I hope it makes up for me being a total lameass and not re-reading/posting it FOREVER. I freaked out when I realized when the last chapter had been posted. So, sorry again! Sorry Randi and all the readers! Enjoy the chapter.

XXXXXXXXX 

As far as he was concerned, next week could not come quickly enough.

Morning, however, was another story. Reno awoke to the insolent rays of Costa sunshine that crept through tightly closed lids. _Does the sun always have to be so damned bright in this place?_ He clenched his eyes shut, trying his best to ignore the interruption, but failed miserably. A heaved breath broke the silence and he decided now was as good a time as any to start the day. Though the digital clock resting beside his bed displayed a quarter to eleven, he felt as if he hadn't slept long enough. The previous evening had really been _something_.

But she said yes.

Despite lead-laden lids, he rolled out of bed and strolled into the kitchen, fingers rubbing idly at the back of his head. As he was contemplating what he might slap together for breakfast, it hit him. Next week was all well and good for a date, but today was a strangely nice day. The kind of day you don't waste lying on the couch watching television. _Since when has that ever stopped me_? Perhaps the brunette next door had been more motivation than he had originally thought. He had a foot in the door with her, and he wasn't about to let Spike worm his way back in. The sun was shining, the ocean breeze was rolling softly, rustling the curtains in the kitchen window and staining the air with that distinct smell of salt and tanning oil. Today, he had a plan.

Settling on one of those boxed donuts from the half-barren pantry, Reno hurried back into his bedroom and tossed on a brand new pair of black board shorts, accompanied by simple t-shirt. After his previous trip to the beach in uniform, he figured it was about time he got something he could wear without calling the attention of each and every person on the beach. Not that they wouldn't be looking, what with his good looks and all. While heading down the hall, he froze in front of the mirror and ruffled disheveled strands of red, slipped on his sunglasses and headed out the door in record time. Who said anything about being vain?

The sun was shining brightly down onto the sandy streets, perhaps an allusion to his heightened spirits as he rounded the sidewalk and practically jogged up Tifa's front steps. Leave it to Reno to come up with spur of the moment ideas and actually put them to use. He knocked brazenly on the door before settling into a slouched posture, suddenly missing his pockets.

When the hard, cracked thumps came upon the door, Tifa glanced up quickly from the budgetary papers she'd been studying, butterflies clattering in her stomach. Though she couldn't be sure of identity behind the door, she knew somewhere in her mind that it could only be one of two people. One made her stomach twist in worry, especially after the previous night's discovery of her feelings toward Reno. But the idea of the second option filled her with anticipation. She decided that moment that she preferred red to blonde.

She scooted off the stool at the kitchen table and headed for the door, each step bringing those butterflies into a flurry. She opened the door to be greeted by a smirking redhead standing on her porch. She was entirely _too_ happy to see him, but letting him onto that would only work to her disadvantage.

Instead, she gave him a sweet smile and lazily said, "Hey, Reno…" as if indifferent to his presence.

"Got a bikini?" he asked with a wink, his smirk not the least bit hindered by her act.

"A… bikini? Sure… but-"

"-Put it on!" This came as an excited demand, and she finally noticed his attire. He was here to take her to the beach.

"You're serious?" she asked, eyeing him as if he'd plotted some kind of trick.

"Well, yeah… come on," he paused to put on his best puppy dog eyes, "you know you want to go to the beach with me."

"Hm… I suppose it couldn't hurt," she delayed, furthering the game of neutrality.

"It'll be fun," he continued on, glancing past her into the kitchen. "Pack some lunch and we'll make it a date," he said with a wink.

With widened eyes, she looked at him incredulously, "Reno… that's only gonna add to your tab, you know. Besides, our date's not 'til next weekend."

"Hey, I've got a job now," he mocked with a treacherously flirtatious smile.

_How's a girl supposed to resist _that "Okay… just give me a sec to change. Why don't you pack that lunch?" she said with a grin.

She slipped back from the door, inviting him to follow her in. He did just that, however arguing, "I don't know what to put in there…"

"Just look through the fridge and pantry, I'm sure you can find something." She was halfway down the hall by the time she heard his next comment.

"Can't I just come _with_ _you_, and then we'll pack this 'picnic' together?" The leering grin on his lips insinuated the lack of innocence in the first portion of the sentence. She couldn't fight off the swell of warmth that crawled across her cheeks.

"Reno!" she exclaimed breathily, whirling to face him with her hair flying around her shoulders. However, the smile on her face came quite contrary to her supposed dislike of his comment.

"Just a suggestion… don't knock my nose crooked again," he said slyly while sneaking off into the kitchen.

"I should…" she jested, finally making it to her room where she closed and … locked the door. It'd be entirely a shame if he happened to decide to take matters into his own hands. _Yeah, what a shame that'd be. _She laughed thinly, startled by the hint of sarcasm she detected in her own thoughts.

Picking out a bikini was a task she didn't much feel like hassling with. The little red, string bikini seemed too racy, though she was sure he'd appreciate the lack of cloth. The turquoise tankini seemed far too reserved, which would ultimately be the best to ward off his ogling. She huffed, blowing the wisps hair from her face.

Then she caught sight of the black bikini in the bottom of the drawer. Flirty, but not ridiculously indecent. She snatched up the smooth cloth, lost in thought as she changed into the garment. Could she really do this? The other evening, she'd felt as if Cloud was out of the picture, and Reno in. As nervous as that made her, she couldn't deny she still felt that way in the light of day. However, taking that leap and allowing another man to view her heart and perhaps one day win her love would be quite an experience. The thought of taking that step made her heart skip a beat, and she knew there was no going back.

When Tifa emerged from her bedroom with her dark hair swept into a pony tail, save for the pesky fringes that slid down across her forehead, wearing the thin white tank and black skirt, he nearly dropped the bottle of water he was attempting to set in the basket he'd found under the counter. It was almost impossible for him to look at anything else. Though, when she gave him a pointed look, he distracted himself with the bottle of water as he slipped it into the basket. Why hadn't he noticed this attraction before he'd been reacquainted with her here in Costa del Sol?

In any case, he didn't really feel the need to waste any more time. Reno had finally come to the conclusion that Tifa was _amazing_. He shut the basket and lifted it from the counter, carrying it with him as he went back toward the door.

"What'd you put in there?" she called after him, pausing near the kitchen.

"You'll have to wait'n see," he replied smugly.

A little giggle took to the air. "You said you had no idea what to put in there and I'm supposed to trust that there's actually something edible?"

He grabbed the doorknob and turned to her with mock disappointment, "I can't believe you don't trust me."

"Oh shut up," she said playfully as she caught up to him at the door.

They laughed together for a moment, before heading out into the sunshine. One of the beaches was just a five-minute walk down the street, which went without any notable conversation.

"How about this beach?" she asked, gesturing her head toward the sandy shore.

"Works for me," he replied, sneaking a hand behind the small of her back as they headed down the path to the beach.

The sand crunched beneath their flip-flop sandals, the strange feeling of being out without his suit setting in as his toes touched the warm sand. While they snaked through other beach goers, he affectionately rubbed his thumb against her back, eyeing her peripherally to take in her reaction. She seemed to be completely at ease in his arms, not the least bit bashful about anyone who happened to look their way. This little fact gave him an air of confidence higher than his usual and she'd probably tell him he looked as if his head were about to pop. He just didn't care. This was proof enough that he had a fair shot, considering Strife could be lurking just around the next umbrella.

Now if he could only manage not to screw up. Tifa found an empty plot of sand near the shore and set her bag down, glancing up at him with a smile. "This okay?"

He shrugged, "Sure."

She grabbed a large blanket from the bag and worked to spread it out across the sand, which proved rather difficult in the wind. Reno watched with a smirk while she chased down one corner as it flew up with the breeze, only to find the opposite side bending against itself. When she looked up at him, she rolled her eyes and laughed, "Give me a hand?"

Reno plopped the basket down on the corner closest to him and Tifa moved her bag to the corner on the opposite side, before laying the towels she brought along next to the bag. As she sat cross-legged, Reno eyed the bright beach towels and gave a chuckle. "Are you actually planning on going for a swim?"

"Well, yeah… you had something else in mind?" she questioned, watching as he sat beside her and brushed the sand from his hands.

"I dunno, I'm fine with just sitting around in the sun."

"Don't you do that every day?" She prodded his side with a finger and he flinched, leaning away from her.

"Maybe…" he said quietly. Hey, he worked his ass off whenever he was at the bar. Well… that wasn't fully true, but close.

"Come on, we'll go for a swim and then we can lie out to dry off," she suggested.

"Eh…" he trailed off, realizing she was looking at him rather curiously. Here they were again, in one of those situations where she was prodding him to do something that made him nervous. This, however, was not as bad as the thrill ride.

"You don't swim?" she asked incredulously.

"It's not that… I just…" he paused, averting his eyes to the ocean. The body of water was nice to look at, and he enjoyed lazing around on the sand while dozens of scantily clad women played in the ocean breeze… but salt water? _Blegh._

"Ohhh," Tifa gasped, covering her mouth delicately with one hand.

"…What?" He gave her quite the look.

"Does it mess up your hair?" She snickered shamelessly while his eyes widened, a dumbfounded look spreading across his features.

"…Sort of."

"Oh my…god." Tifa couldn't have made the situation more awkward if she tried. He felt ridiculous while she giggled, and more so when she finally quit and smiled sweetly at him.

"Hey, it takes a lot of work to get it to stay like this…" he argued.

"I'll bet it does," she said mockingly.

"You know what," he began, giving her a devilish smirk.

"What?" she retorted, biting back a laugh.

With extended fingers, he brushed the wisped threads of silk from her cheeks, wiping the smile from her lips with a kiss. Any thoughts she may have had about laughing disappeared in an instant, he knew it by the way she leaned against him eagerly. He wrapped his hand around the elegant curve of her neck, capturing her bottom lip.

When they separated, she caressed his cheek lightly and said, "At least come down to the water with me?"

He feigned annoyance, rolling his eyes with a scoff, "Fine, fine."

Tifa hopped up from the blanket, discarding her flip-flops on the ground while lifting the white tank from her torso. As she did so, Reno caught a glimpse of her bare stomach for the first time. He'd always had a weak spot for a nice stomach, but something about the girlish curvature and softness of hers tossed his mind into the gutter. She shimmied off her skirt and folded the garments into the bag she'd brought along, turning back to face him. It took much of his self-control to keep that tongue of his from making an indecent comment as he stripped off his shirt. Wouldn't want to call on her wrath with one of those ill placed remarks, _right? _

Lacing her fingers with his, she led the way down to the shore. The fact that she'd held his hand the entire way gave him a certain intoxication to which he could appoint no words. She really had interest in him, more so than she was letting on. A smirk inched its way across his features; he couldn't recall the last time he'd felt this way about a woman.

Tifa brought him shin deep in the ocean water, which swayed back and forth around his ankles at a pleasant temperature. He was about to deem the day practically perfect when a spray of water met the side of his face, followed by the song of laughter. Tifa was precariously holding her hand above the water, giggling while he skimmed the moisture away with his hand.

"What was that for?" he whined, watching as she dipped her hand back into the tide. His eyes took the form of saucers when he realized what she was plotting. He backed slowly away, hands before him muttering "Tifa… you don't want to-"

Apparently, she did. A second spray of water hit him on his way back up to the sand, soaking down a portion of his bangs. "Hey!" he exclaimed. But it was too late for the dying strands of red that slicked down against his cheeks, so he turned to her with a glare, lips flat.

"I-I'm sorry! I know I-" she couldn't finish. She was just too busy laughing at the way he was looking at her; it was the most serious look she'd ever seen him take.

"Oh, you're sorry, eh?" he asked sarcastically. He kept turquoise irises rested on her while he shoved back limp strands.

"Reno… don't get all mad at me," she said, suddenly sober from her laughter.

"Mad? Oh, Tifa…" he nearly growled her name, approaching her in quite the predatory manner. "Mad doesn't even begin to describe it."

Tifa looked at him sheepishly, eating up every word as if it were meant to harm her. She stood in the sloshing waves while he sauntered his way over to her, not a single word from her lips.

"It's something like…" he began, but before he graced her with the description, he swept her from her feet and twirled her in a circle, amused by the way she squealed all the while. They might have looked something like a couple in the midst of a reunion. That was, until he brought her down in the salty water, drenching her mercilessly beneath a wave.

She happened to find the whole stunt hilarious, as she ended up half-coughing, half-giggling as he held her close in the deeper water. She swept back tousled strands to glance up at him, holding back the urge to smile goofily when she caught sight of his flattened hair. Reno, however, was more concerned with games now that his hair was soaking wet anyway. While she was grinning at him, he crafted a quick splash that shattered against the side of her face. That earned him a look that brought on a chuckle, while their little battle of splashing ensued.

He felt like a kid again, splashing and running in the waist deep water for several minutes. Tifa really was a lot of fun, when she wasn't throwing punches. He took one final splash before snaking an arm around her waist and pulling her in close, relishing the feel of her silky skin beneath his arms. She really did feel perfect, pressed against him while the waves rolled by. She caught her breath, resting her forehead against his as their lashes tangled together intimately.

"Reno… your hair is thrashed," she said quietly.

"Thanks to you," he said, earning a slight giggle. Though, he really couldn't complain. They'd had a bit of fun and now she was kissing him, running her fingernails across his shoulder blades while the breeze drifted by. That settled it. He was infinitely grateful he'd decided not to wait for next weekend.

She pressed three more delicate kisses against his lips before breaking away, taking his hand once again as she waded into the shallow water. She sat in the wet sand, legs outstretched into the tide as it lolled around her thighs, and he sat beside her. For a moment, they absorbed the warm rays of sun in silence, soaking up the atmosphere. There really was something utterly romantic about Costa del Sol, especially when Reno found himself in that moment when she rested her head against his shoulder, stringy strands of wet hair tickling his arms.

She sighed dreamily, watching several birds float on the currents of air above the surface of the ocean. The gulls caught his attention as well, as they rested in the air before diving close to the water and sweeping back up.

"What do you suppose they're here for?" she asked, just stirring conversation.

"Well, food… probably. Or maybe they like surfing up there," he grinned and placed a soft kiss against the crown of her head.

"I didn't mean that… I meant, what do you think their purpose is?"

"Why the weird questions, Teef?" he asked, craning his neck to catch her profile.

She frowned lightly, which sunk his heart. "I don't know… I was thinking about where I'm going… what my purpose is."

_Oh… no._ "To serve up mean cocktails?" That brought a shameless smirk, furthered when she caught sight of it.

"Reno! That's just a job… I just always wonder where I'll end up."

"Where do you want to be?" he braved the question, half hoping she wouldn't slip into some long winded explanation about where she thought she should be since the battle for the Planet.

"You know… I'm pretty happy right here," she mused.

_That some round about way of saying she wants to be with me?_ "Really?" Holding back the genuine smile threatening to come around was difficult when she smiled and graced him with a kiss on the cheek.

"Really."

They sat content beneath the clear blue sky for hours, talking aimlessly about life and history… things Reno never really saw himself sharing with anyone. By the time they remembered the lunch sitting in the basket, the sun was creeping slowly into the ocean, casting a hazy orange glow over the beach.

"I don't know about you, but I'm starving," he confessed, doing his best to retie the messy ponytail.

"Yeah, I forgot about that lunch you packed… I guess it's dinner now," she laughed lightly, taking his hand as he helped her from the water.

"Does that mean you're havin' a nice time?"

"You could say that," she replied shyly as they retreated to the blanket.

OoOoOoOoO

Reno had packed a decent little lunch, and she enjoyed the fresh cut fruit… though she'd purchased the platter at the market the other day. But all things considered, he packed a meal that worked well with the day at the beach. And what a day it had been. From the talk they'd had and the game of splashing… she was absolutely euphoric.

The sun was setting, purples and pinks spanning the evening cloudbank that had rolled in over the horizon. They had just finished cleaning up the picnic when he'd taken her wrist and pulled her between his legs, her back resting against his chest as he looped his arms around her. She really hadn't ever expected the feeling that overwhelmed her when he kissed her cheekbone from her ear to her nose, leaning over her shoulder. Quite plainly, she was falling for a man who was once her enemy. The emotion was foreign, but welcome as she snuggled into him, indulging in the warmth that radiated from his body.

"I could stay here all night, you know…" she trailed off.

"That could work. You do owe me, after all…" The words came so closely to her ear that his faint breath tickled her skin, sending a shiver through her spine.

Something about the way the words rolled from his tongue warned her not to ask what it was she owed him, but her curiosity won out. "Oh? And what do I… owe you?"

"Don't tell me you forgot?" he scoffed playfully, brushing the tips of his fingers across her thigh.

"Mm… I guess I did." She was almost afraid to look at him, not quite seeing where he was going with this little conversation.

"Well," he paused, kissing the lobe of her ear. The affection unsettled her stomach, when she realized what his next words were going to be. "You owe me Sex on the Beach."

She should have known.

"Reno!"

The astonishment in her eyes amused him to no end.

**XXXXXXXXX**

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